/alifori 
gional 
cility 


THE 


ANCESTRY 


GENERAL  GRANT, 


CONTEMPORARIES. 


BY 

EDWARD    CHAUNCEY    MARSHALL,    A.M., 

AUTHOR    OF 

"  THE    HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES    NAVAL   ACADEMY,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK  : 

SHELDON  &  COMPANY,  498  &  500  BROADWAY. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 
EDWARD  C.   MARSHALL, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


TO 

NATHANIEL  HAYDEN,  ESQ., 

HEZEKIAH  B.  LOOMIS,  ESQ.,   ISAAC  N.  PHELPS,  ESQ., 
GEN.  FRED.  E.  MATHER,  AND  HORATIO  G.  LOOMIS,  ESQ., 

WHOSE 

PIONEER  ANCESTORS   WERE   FOUNDERS 

WITH 

MATTHEW   GRANT,  OF    WINDSOR,    CONNECTICUT, 
SOME  OF  WHOM  ARE   KINSMEN 

OF 

GENERAL    GRANT, 

AND   THROUGH  WHOSE   APPRECIATIVE  SYMPATHY  AND 

ENCOURAGEMENT    THIS    UNDERTAKING    HAS     BEEN     BROUGHT 

TO  A   SUCCESSFUL  ISSUE, 

THE 

AUTHOR  WOULD,  MOST  RESPECTFULLY, 
DEDICATE 

THIS    VOLUME. 


20131 


PREFACE. 


THE  author  has  had  two  objects  in  view  in 
the  preparation  of  this  work ;  first,  to  give  an 
account  of  the  ancient  sources  of  the  family  of 
General  Grant ;  and  secondly,  to  illustrate,  in 
some  degree,  the  early  history  of  the  town  of 
Windsor,  and  of  the  families  whose  pioneer  an- 
cestors assisted  in  founding  the  colony  of  Con- 
necticut. Those  ancestors  were  fellow-towns- 
men with  General  Grant's,  two  hundred  years 
ago,  in  the  wilderness,  surrounded  by  the  savage 
foe,  and  they  lie,  now,  with  his  in  the  same  old 
graveyard.  It  is  natural,  therefore,  that  their  de- 
scendants should  feel  a  personal  interest  in  him 
whom  the  fortunes  of  war  and  his  own  skill  in 
arms  have  justly  made  so  distinguished. 

These  sentiments  have  animated  the  writer, 
and,  doubtless,  sentiments  not  unlike  these  have 
influenced  a  large  number  of  zealous  correspond- 
ents and  friends  who  have  aided  in  this  labor  of 


VI  PREFACE. 


love.  Among  these,  the  author  would  call  atten- 
tion especially  to  the  services  of  the  Hon.  J. 
Hammond  Trumbull,  President  of  the  Connect- 
icut Historical  Society,  who  has  made  important 
contributions  to  these  pages.  William  Wood, 
Esq.,  a  Scotch  gentleman,  of  New  York,  has 
rendered  great  assistance  in  a  special  field  of  in- 
quiry in  which  some  investigation  has  been 
made.  Dr.  Henry  R.  Stiles  has  displayed  much 
interest  in  the  development  of  the  author's  plans, 
and  a  free  use  has  been  made  of  many  facts  and 
papers  which  are  found  in  his  History  of  Ancient 
Windsor.  Valuable  aid  has  been  received,  also, 
from  John  Ward  Dean,  LL.D.,  a  well  known 
antiquarian  of  Boston ;  from  John  B.  Porter, 
M.  D.,  of  Coventry,  Jabez  H.  Hayden,  Esq.,  of 
Windsor  Locks,  John  Owen  Pettibone,  Esq.,  of 
Weatogue,  and  Charles  J.  Hoadly,  Esq.,  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut;  and  from  Frederick 
Saunders,  Esq.,  of  the  Astor  Library,  Francis 
H.  Houston,  Esq.,  of  the  Mercantile  Library,  and 
George  H.  Moore,  LL.D.,  of  the  Historical  Li- 
brary, New  York.  Jesse  R.  Grant,  Esq.,  the 
father  of  General  Grant,  besides  having  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  work,  has  given  the  proof 
sheets  an  intelligent  and  careful  revision.  To 


PREFACE.  Vli 

all  of  the  many  kind  friends  who  have  aided  the 
author  in  any  manner  in  his  labors,  he  would 
return  the  most  sincere  acknowledgments. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  suggested  that  Gen- 
eral Grant  should,  at  some  future  period,  make 
a  pilgrimage  to  Windsor,  the  Mecca  of  his  an- 
cestral history,  and  he  will  see  there  the  early 
town  records,  preserved  now  for  more  than  two 
centuries,  which  were  written  carefully,  and  in  a 
scholarly  manner,  by  the  pioneer,  Matthew  Grant ; 
and  in  Hartford  he  will  find,  guarded  with  jeal- 
ous care  by  Mr.  Trumbull,  in  the  Historical  Li- 
brary, the  manuscript  old  Church  Book,  which 
is  also  in  the  handwriting  of  Matthew  Grant. 
They  are  interesting  and  suggestive  relics  of  the 
past.  They  have  furnished  the  materials  of  his- 
tory for  many  generations  of  men  since  "  The 
Recorder"  acted  his  part  in  the  busy  scenes  of 
life. 

NEW  YORK,  September,  1869. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I.— BIOGRAPHIES. 

CHAPTER  i. 

PAGE. 

Matthew  Grant, — The  Clan  of  Grants, — Rev.  John 
White, — The  Mary  and  John, — Settlement  of  Dor- 
chester,— Roger  Clap, — The  First  House  in  Con- 
necticut, —  Settlement  of  Windsor,  —  Matthew 
Grant  as  Surveyor  and  Town  Clerk, — The  Wood- 
bridge  Controversy,  —  The  Simsbury  Boundary 
Line, — Mr.  Joseph  Loomis, — Mr.  William  Phelps, 
— "The  Palazado  Plot,'' — Captain  John  Mason, 
— King  Philip's  War, — Captain  Samuel  Marshall, 
— The  Wept  of  Wish-ton-wish, — Matthew  Grant's 
Decease.  i  • 

CHAPTER   n. 

Samuel  Grant,  Senior,  —  A  Church  Member,  —  "A 
Bound-Goer,"  —  Settlement  of  East  Windsor,  — 
Samuel  Grant,  Junior, — The  Minor  Family, — The 
Grants  Church-Members,  —  Biblical  Names,  — 
Noah  Grant,  Senior, — Martha  Huntington  of  Nor- 
wich,— The  Settlement  of  Tolland,— The  Allot- 
ment at  Tolland, — The  Petition  of  the  Tolland 
Pioneers, — The  Rev.  Mr.  Steel  Ordained, — Lieut. 
Peter  Buell,— The  Buell  Family.  26. 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  in. 

Captain  Noah  Grant  of  the  French  and  Indian  War, — 
Susannah  Delano, — The  Crown  Point  Expedition, 
— Captain  Israel  Putnam, — Fort  Lyman  rebuilt, — 
A  Scouting  Party, — Defeat  of  Dieskau, — 'Overseer 
of  Masons, — Pay-Roll  and  General  Account, — 
Honors  from  the  Connecticut  Assembly, — Lieut. 
John  Stark, — A  New  Campaign, — Scouting  Par- 
tics, — Death  of  Captain  Grant, — Death  of  Lieut. 
Solomon  Grant, — Captain  Noah  Grant  of  the 
Revolution, — Evidence  of  Descent  from  Matthew 
Grant,  —  The  Lexington  Alarm,  —  Lieut.  Jesse 
Grant, — Ratio  of  .Troops  from  the  Colonies, — 
Removal  to  Pennsylvania, — The  Connecticut  Re- 
serve,— The  Indians, — Wild  Beasts, — Gov.  Hunt- 
ington, — General  St.  Clair, — Captain  Grant's  De- 
clining Y.ears.  35. 

CHAPTER  iv. 

Jesse  Root  Grant, — Judge  Root, — Miss  Hannah  Simp- 
son,— Point  Pleasant, — Birth-place  of  a  President, — 
Georgetown, — Business  at  Galena, — Residence  at 
Covington,  Kentucky, — Secret  of  his  Success, — 
Mr.  Grant  as  a  Poet, — General  Ulysses  Simpson 
Grant, — Difficulties  about  a  Name, — Scriptural 
Names,  —  Anecdotes,  —  Served  through  all  the 
Grades, — General  Scott, — Views  of  Professor  Ma- 
han.  63. 

PART   II.— MISCELLANEOUS  PAPERS. 

1. 

The  Clan  of  Grants,  —  Gregory  de  Grant,  —  The 
Strathspey  Grants, — Castle  Urquahart, — A  Low- 


CONTENTS.  XI 

land  Poet,— The  War-Cries,— The  Grant  Tar- 
tan,— The  Bard, — The  Seafield  Arms,  —  Castle 
Grant,  —  Grantown, — Earl  of  Seafield, — Baron 
Glenelg, — Major-General  James  Grant.  85. 

2. 

The  Grant  Homestead, — Title  to  the  Homestead, — 
The  Old  House, — The  Windsor  Homesteads, — 
The  Loomis  and  Hayden  Homesteads, — The  Stuy- 
vesant  and  Beekman  Estates  in  New  York.  94. 


The    Dorchester    Records, — First    Entry    of  Matthew 
Grant's  Name,—"  Rayles  "  for  "  Cowes." 


Matthew    Grant's    Record, — His     Family, — Susannah 

Rockwell, — The  Rockwell  Family.  100. 


Matthew  Grant's  Rules  for  Measuring  Land, — "Run- 
ing  upon  a  Poynt," — "Three  Poyntes."  101. 

6. 

The  Constitutions  of  1638  and  1650, — The  Preamble 
of  1638, — "Schooles,'' — Roger  Ludlow  the  Law- 
Maker, — The  oldest  American  Constitution.  101. 


The  Freemen  of  1669, — Governor  Bissell, — The  Ells- 
worth   Family, — Chief    Justice     Ellsworth, — The 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

Eno  Family, — John  Fitch,  the  Inventor  of  Steam- 
boats,—  The  Griswold  Family,  —  Governors 
Matthew  and  Roger  Griswold,  —  The  Hayden 
Family, — The  Holcombe  Family, — The  Loomis 
Family,  —  The  Marshall  Family,  —  The  Mather 
Family,  —  The  Owen  Family,  —  The  Pettibone 
Family, — The  Phelps  Family, — The  Stiles  Family, 
— The  Wolcott  Family, — Governor  Roger  Wol- 
cott, — The  two  Governors  Oliver  Wolcott.  105. 

8. 

Persecutions  of  the  Puritans  in  England, — Dr.  Leighton, 
a  Scotch  Preacher, — The  Whipping,  the  Pillory, 
the  Knife,  the  Brand, — Mr.  William  Prynne,  Bar- 
rister. 150. 


The   Last  Will  and   Testament  of  Matthew  Grant, — 

Witnesses  John  Loomis  and  Thomas  Dibble.  153. 

10. 

CaptainNoah  Grant's  Muster  Roll, — "  Prince,  Negro," 

— "  Jupiter,  Negro."  155. 

II. 

Lieut.  Solomon  Grant  of  the  French  and  Indian  War, — 
Lieut.  John  Levens, — A  Scout  towards  Hoosuc, — 
"  Captivated," — Death  of  Lieutenant  Grant, — His 
Coventry  Estate.  156. 

12. 

The  Will  of  Lieutenant  Solomon  Grant, — "  My  Well- 
Beloved  Brother  Noah  Grant."  1 59. 


CONTEXTS.  xiii 


The  Delano   Family,  —  Philip   de   La   Noye,  —  Jonathan 

Delano,  —  The  Iron-Armed.  161. 

14. 

Genealogy  of  General  Grant,  —  An  Extract  from  Edward 
Everett,  —  John  Porter,  of  Windsor,  —  Captain  Ros- 
well  Grant  of  the  Revolution,  —  Hon.  Columbus 
Delano,—  The  Title  of  "  General."  1  63. 


The  Inaugural  Address  of  President  Grant.  175. 


PART    I. -BIOGRAPHIES. 

CHAPTER     I. 

MATTHEW    GRANT,     ONE    OF    THE    FOUNDERS    OF 
WINDSOR,     CONNECTICUT. 

THE  names  and  the  memory  of  those  who, 
in  blood  and  suffering,  were  the  founders  of  a 
mighty  nation,  now  the  United  States,  should 
be  held  in  reverence.  The  historian  of  Mas- 
sachusetts says,  when  speaking  of  them,  "  I 
am  not  preserving  from  oblivion  the  names  of 
heroes,  whose  chief  merit  is  the  overthrow  of 
Cities,  Provinces,  and  Empires  ;  but  the  names 
of  the  founders  of  a  flourishing  town  and  col- 
ony, if  not  of  the  whole  British  empire  in 
America."  * 

Their  descendants  preserve  with  honest 
pride,  the  sacred  record  of  their  heroism.  To 
have  crossed  an  unknown  ocean  to  a  new  coun- 
try, three  thousand  miles  distant  from  home 
and  kindred,  to  have  braved  the  perils  of  the 
flood,  the  pestilence,  the  ambush  in  the  wilder- 
ness, the  stratagem,  the  massacre,  the  scalping- 
knife,  the  midnight  horrors  of  the  Indian's 
blazing  torch,  to  have  encountered  all  these 
dangers  in  the  effort  to  reclaim  a  continent 

*  Ifittchinsotis  Hist.  Mass,    Vol.  II.  Appendix  p.  463. 


2  Matthew  Grant,  'The  Pioneer. 

from  the  savage,  and  consecrate  it  as  the  dwell- 
ing place  of  civilization  and  freedom  must 
have  developed  a  character  in  these,  our  early 
settlers,  unsurpassed  in  the  annals  of  human 
suffering  and  human  daring. 

The  purpose  of  these  hardy  pioneers  in 
abandoning  their  native  land,  was  to  secure 
in  the  New  World  what  was  denied  them  in 
the  old,  the  enjoyment  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  Doubtless  they  made  some  mistakes 
in  developing  into  practice  their  ideas  of  liber- 
ty, but  those  mistakes  were  characteristic  of 
the  age  in  which  they  lived ;  many  a  greater 
enterprise  has  been  fraught  with  more  abund- 
ant errors.  Mr.  Edward  Everett  has  said  of 
them,  '£  In  coming  to  this  country,  our  fathers 
most  certainly  contemplated,  not  merely  a  safe 
retreat  beyond  the  sea,  where  they  could  wor- 
ship God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
conscience,  but  a  local  government  founded  on 
popular  choice.  That  their  foresight  stretched 
onward  through  the  successive  stages  of  colo- 
nial and  provincial  government  which  resulted 
in  the  establishment  of  a  great  republican  con- 
federacy, it  would  be  extravagant  to  pretend. 
But  from  the  primitive  and  venerable  compact 
signed  on  the  nth  of  November,  1620,  on 
board  the  Mayflower  while  she  yet  nestled  in 
the  entrance  of  Provincetown  harbor,  after  her 


Matthew  Grant,  The  Pioneer.  3 

desolate  voyage,  like  a  weary  child  at  even- 
song in  its  mother's  arms,  through  every  doc- 
ument and  manifesto  which  bears  on  the  ques- 
tion, there  is  a  distinct  indication  of  a  purpose 
to  establish  civil  government  on  the  basis  of 
republican  equality."  * 

Gen.   Ulysses  S.   Grant  is  a  lineal  descend- 
ant from   MATTHEW  GRANT,   who  came  from 


1681.  t 

England  to  the  New  World  in  1630.  Jessie 
R.  Grant,  Esq.,  the  father  of  General  Grant, 
mentions  in  a  letter  to  the  writer  that  his  fath- 
er "  used  to  tell  him  he  was  of  Scotch  ances- 
try." This  tradition  is,  probably,  well  found- 
ed, for  many  of  the  early  pioneers  were  of 
Scotch  descent,  some  were  Welsh,  and  a  few 
v/ere  Irish.  The  Grants  are,  probably,  de- 
scendants from  the  ancient  Scottish  clan  whose 
motto,  "  Stand  fast,  Craig  Ellachie,"  well  rep- 
resents the  spirit  of  the  distinguished  rep- 
resentative of  the  family.  The  ancient  High- 
land clan  of  Grants  must  have  been,  in  some 
degree,  a  sea  -  faring  people,  for  they  occu- 
pied a  country,  Invernesshire,  which  extend- 

*  E--veretfs  Speeches.     Vol.  III.  p.  242. 

f  Traced  from  the  will   at   Hartford,  by   the    Hon.  J.  H. 
Trumbull. 


4  Matthew  Grant,  'The  Pioneer. 

ed  from  sea  to  sea,  and  the  seats  of  the  two 
highest  titled  representatives  which  the  clan 
has  had  of  late  years  are  on  both  the  eastern 
and  western  shores,  the  Earl  of  Seafield,  a 
Grant,  having  a  seat  at  Elgin,  near  the  Spey 
Bay,  and  Baron  Glenelg  now  deceased,  a  Grant 
of  Glenmoriston,  having  taken  his  title  from 
Glenelg,  a  town  situated  on  the  straits  opposite 
to  the  Island  of  Sky.  Their  country  was  di- 
vided by  the  Loch  Ness  and  a  chain  of  lakes 
giving  easy  access,  on  either  side,  to  the  ocean, 
and  Inverness,  their  ancient  capital,  has  always 
been  an  important  sea-port  town.  It  is  quite 
probable,  therefore,  that  many  representatives 
of  this  clan  were  often  found  in  all  the  ports 
of  England.*  Indeed,  on  the  29th  of  Oc- 
tober, in  the  same  year  that  Matthew  Grant 
embarked  for  New  England,  the  ship  Hand- 
maid, in  charge  of  Captain  John  Grant,  reach- 
ed Plymouth  with  a  company  of  passengers 
for  the  new  settlements,  and  the  ship  James 
arrived,  June  I2th,  1632,  from  London,  in 
command  of  Captain  Grant.  The  number  of 

*  Sir  Walter  Scott  informs  us  that,  at  this  very  period, 
the  Scotch  were  great  travellers,  and  there  were  thousands 
of  them  in  the  military  service  of  the  nations  of  the  conti- 
nent, and  engaged  in  carrying  on  an  extensive  inland  com- 
merce in  all  the  northern  parts  of  Europe.  Tales  of  a 
Grandfather.  Vol.  II.  p.  333. 

"The  first  inhabitants  of  Dorchester  came  chiefly  from 
Ye  Sd  countys  of  Devon,  Dorcetand  Somerset,  and  I  think 
from  some  other  places."  Blake's  Annals  of  Dorchester,  p.  10. 


Matthew  Grant,  The  Pioneer.  5 

pioneers  in  New  England  of  Scotch  descent 
seems  to  have  increased  rapidly,  and  they  or- 
ganized in  Boston,  as  early  as  Jan.  6th,  1657, 
the  Scots'  Charitable  Society,  of  which  there 
were  twenty-seven  members  the  first  year, 
among  whom  were  James  Grant,  Alexander 
Grant,  and  Peter  Grant.  *  Direct  evidence  as 
to  the  descent  of  General  Grant  from  the  an- 
cient Scottish  clan  of  Grants  cannot  easily  be 
procured,  at  this  late  day,  but  there  can  be 
scarce  any  room  for  doubt  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  weigh  rightly  the  circumstantial  evi- 
dence. -J-  It  is  not,  however,  we  confess,  a 
question  of  vital  importance,  for  General 
Grant  has  certainly  been  the  architect  of  his 
own  fortunes,  and,  in  this  republican  country, 

*  Drake's  Hist,  and  Ant ig.  of  Boston,  pp.  88,  454.  The 
names  of  John,  James,  Alexander  and  Thomas  Grant  are  found 
in  the  list  of  Scotch  prisoners  sent  from  London  in  1651,  after  the 
battle  of  Worcester,  in  the  John  and  Sarah.  N.  E.  Hist,  and  Gen. 
Reg.  pp.  377,  380.  (  John  Ward  Dean,  Esq.]  Seethe  account  of 
the  Clan  of  Grants  in  this  work. 

— Alexander  Allyn,  "a  gentleman  of  means  and  education," 
a  Scotchman,  resident  in  Windsor,  married  in  1693,  Mary  Grant, 
a  granddaughter  of  Matthew  Grant.  She  was  then  about  eigh- 
teen years  of  age.  Stiles'  Windsor,  p.  521. 

f  The  author  has  no  admiration  of  vain-glorious  boasting  as 
to  ancestry,  but  the  question  must,  sometimes,  be  considered 
whether  the  pioneers  of  New  England  were  a  race  of  serfs  or  the 
refuse  of  society  from  the  old  world.  This  subject  is  ably  dis- 
cussed by  Hollister,  who  remarks :  "  From  actual  examination, 
it  appears  that  more  than  four-fifths  of  the  early  landed  proprie- 
tors of  Hartford,  Wethersfield,and  Windsor, belonged  to  families 
that  had  arms  granted  to  them  in  Great  Britain.  Other  settlers, 
in  various  parts  of  Connecticut,  at  an  earlier  or  later  day,  bearing 
family  names  that  appear  never  to  have  borne  arms,  are  believed 


6  Matthew  Grant,  I'/ie  Pioneer. 

the  sentiment  contained  in  the  well-known 
lines  of  Pope  is  everywhere  approved  of: 

"  Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise, 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies." 

Matthew  Grant  with  his  wife  Priscilla,  both 
aged  twenty-nine  years,  and  an  infant  daughter, 
named  also  Priscilla,  embarked  from  Plymouth, 
England,  with  a  party  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  emigrants,  who  had  been  gathered  chiefly 
from  Dorsetshire,  Devonshire,  and  Somerset- 
shire. Mr.  Everett  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  them ; — "  There  was  a  large  body  of 
'West  Country,'  or  { Dorchester  men/  in 
Gov.  Winthrop's  expedition,  who  were,  many 
of  them  of  Mr.  White's  *  church,  and  all  were 
enlisted,  so  to  say,  under  his  auspices  and 
encouragement ;  and  they  were  the  first  in  the 
field.  Early  in  March,  1630,  they  were  ready 
to  depart,  and  a  large  vessel  was  chartered  at 
Plymouth  for  their  separate  conveyance.  The 
faithful  pastor,  guide  at  once  in  things  divine 
and  human — which  in  that  age  of  trial  ran 

to  have  been  descended  from  the  landed  gentry,  or  other  genteel 
English  families. " 

Hollister's  Hist.  Conn.     Vol.  I.  p.  417. 

*  Rev.  John  White,  pastor  in  Dorchester,  chief  town  in  the 
county  of  Dorset  in  the  west  of  England  on  the  British  Channel. 
He  "  preached  unto  us  ( in  the  new  hospital)  the  word  of  God, 
in  the  fore  part  of  the  day  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  day."  Rc- 
ger  Clap. 


Matthew  Granf,  The  Pioneer.  7 

strangely  together,  as  in  what  age  do  they  not, 
— went  with  them  to  their  port  of  embarkation; 
met  with  them  in  the  new  hospital  at  Plymouth, 
where  they  gathered  themselves  into  a  church 
under  the  ministers  of  his  selection;  held  with 
them  a  solemn  fast  of  preparation,  and  preached 
to  them  the  last  sermon  they  were  to  hear  from 
his  lips  : — 

— '  Prompt  at  every  call 
He  watched  and  wept,  he  prayed  and  felt  for  all.'  "  * 

And  so  on  the  2oth  of  March,  1630,  the 
Dorchester  emigrants  embarked  in  the  Mary 
and  John,  f  Capt.  Squeb,  master,  a  vessel  of 
four  hundred  tons.  They  had  a  prosperous 
voyage  of  seventy  days  and  arrived  at  Nantas- 
ket,  |  on  the  joth  of  May,  about  ten  davs  in 


*  Everett' 's  Speeches.  Vol.  III.  p.  309. 

A  complete  church  organization  was  perfected  at  Plymouth, 
England,  and  the  church  was  afterwards  transferred  from  Dor- 
chester Mass,  to  Windsor,  Connecticut.  Matthew  Grant  was 
one  of  the  members.  Stiles'  Windsor,  p.  635,  844,  858.  This 
church  is  "  now  the  oldest  evangelical  church  in  America,  and 
except  the  Southwark  Church,  London,  the  oldest  orthodox  con- 
gregational church  in  the  world."  Jabez  H.  Hoyden,  Esq.  in 
Stiles'1  Windsor,  p.  74. 

f  The  statement  that  Matthew  Grant  came  in  the  Mary  and 
John  is  made  upon  the  authority  of  Dr  Stiles.  (  Hist.  Anct. 
Windsor,  p.  635).  After  a  careful  weighing  of  the  evidence  this 
seems  to  be  the  most  probable  account,  although  its  correctness 
cannot  be  verified,  at  this  day,  with  absolute  certainty.  Matthew 
Grant  was,  undoubtedly,  admitted  a  freeman  of  Dorchester 
in  1631. 

J  Now  called  Hull,  a  small  village  nine  miles,  by  water,  south 
east  frcm  Boston. 


8  Matthew  Grant,  The  Pioneer. 

advance  of  the  Arabella,  and  the  vessel 
which  accompanied  her.  The  Dorchester  com- 
pany contained  many  "persons  of  note  or  fig- 
ure, and  dignified  by  the  title  of  Master," 
having  adult  families  and  good  estates  in 
England,  three  directors  of  the  London  Com- 

O  ' 

pany  which  held  the  charter,  three  men  of  mili- 
tary experience,  a  numerous  party  of  young 
men,  either  single  or  with  wives  and  children, 
and  a  frugal  store  of  worldly  goods.  They 
were  attended  by  their  pastors,  Messrs.  Mav- 
erick and  Warham.  "  So  we  came,"  says  Ro- 
ger Clap,  who  was  one  of  the  passengers,  "  by 
the  hand  of  God,  through  the  deeps  comfort- 
ably ;  having  preaching,  or  expounding  of  the 
word  of  God,  every  day  for  ten  weeks  together 
by  our  ministers." 

They  landed  at  Nantasket,  and  having  ex- 
plored the  coast,  the  main  body  established 
themselves  on  "a  neck  of  land  fit  to  keep  their 
cattle  on"  called  by  the  Indians  Mattapan, 
which  they  named  from  the  place  they  had  left 
in  England,  Dorchester,  now  South  Boston  a 
suburb  of  the  city  of  Boston.  Here,  they  had, 
at  first,  many  privations.  Roger  Clap  says 
<l  the  place  was  a  wilderness.  Fish  was  a  good 
help  to  me  and  to  others.  Bread  was  so  scarce 
that  I  thought  the  very  crusts  from  my  father's 
table  would  have  been  sweet ;  and  when  I  could 


Matthew  Grant,  ^he  Pioneer.  9 

have  meal  and  salt  and  water  boiled  together  I 
asked  c  who  would  ask  for  better  ? '  And, 
again,  c<  In  our  beginnings,  many  were  in  great 
straits  for  want  of  provisions  for  themselves  and 
little  ones.  Oh !  the  hunger  that  many  suffered 
and  saw  no  hope  in  an  eye  of  reason  to  be  sup- 
plied, only  by  clams,  mussels,  and  fish." 

Nevertheless  the  new  settlement  prospered, 
and  in  1633,  an  early  writer  styles  it  "the 
greatest  town  in  New  England."  "It  set  the 
example,  that  year,  of  that  municipal  organi- 
zation which  has  since  prevailed  throughout 
New  England  and  has  proved  one  of  the  chief 
sources  of  its  progress.  It  has  been  supposed 
that  the  first  stated  provision  for  a  public 
school  was  made  here."  *  A  house  is  still 
standing  in  Dorchester  which  was  built  in 
1633,  and  we  can  readily  imagine  that  Matthew 
Grant  was  present  at  its  raising.  -j* 


*  Everett. 

"  Few  except  students  in  the  history  of  New  England  are 
aware,  probably,  that  Dorchester  was  settled  before  Boston  or 
even  Charlestown.  '  When  many  most  Godly  and  Religious 
people,  in  ye  Reign  of  King  Charles  ye  first,  did  under  ye  Incour- 
agcment  of  a  Charter  Granted  by  ye  Sd  King  Charles,  A.  D. 
1628,  Remove  themselves  and  their  Families  into  ye  Colony  of  yc 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  then  it  was  that  the  first 
Inhabitants  of  Dorchester  came  over  and  were  ye  first  Company 
or  Church  Society  that  arrived  here,  next  to  ye  town  of  Salem 
who  was  one  year  before  them.' "  N£-IV  Eng.  Hist,  and  Gen. 
Reg.  Vol.  V.  p.  389,  quoting  Roger  Clap. 

f  The  "  Minot  House."     It  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  wooden 
house  in  the  United  States.     It  was  the  headquarters  of  General 
1* 


io  Matthew  Grant,  ^he  Pioneer. 

Church  membership  had  been  made,  from 
the  first,  the  principal  qualification  for  freeman- 
ship,  and,  in  one  year  after  his  arrival,  Mat- 
thew Grant  had  been  admitted  a  freeman. 
About  four  years  after  the  debarkation  at 
Nantasket,  the  settlers  at  Dorchester  had  be- 
gun to  agitate  the  question  of  a  removal  to 
the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and  Matthew 
Grant  was  ready  for  any  new  enterprise. 

The  chief  motive  of  the  Dorchester  men 
in  leaving  Massachusetts  was  undoubtedly,  as 
Gov.  Bradford,  of  Plymouth,  has  stated  it, 
"a  hankering  after"  the  fertile  lands  on  the 
Connecticut  River.  Winthrop,  also,  gives  as 
their  principal  reasons  for  emigrating,  "  the 
fruitfulness  and  commodiousness  of  Connect- 
icut and  the  danger  of  having  it  possessed  by 
others,  Dutch  or  English."  Already  had  the 
Dutch,  in  June,  1633,  erected  a  fort  at  Hart- 
ford, and  in  October  of  the  same  year,  Wil- 
liam Holmes  acting  for  the  Plymouth  Trading 
Company  had  built  a  house  at  Matianunck, 
now  Windsor.  "  This,"  says  Gov.  Wolcott, 
"  was  the  first  house  ever  erected  in  Connecti- 
cut." Early  in  June,  1635,  a  pioneer  corps 
came  from  Dorchester,  but  the  first  settlement 
of  any  importance  at  Windsor  was  made  by 

Washington,   for  a  season,  during  the  revolution.      N.  E.  Hist, 
and  Gen.  Reg.     Vol.  XXII.  p.  64. 


Matthew  Grant,  'The  Pioneer.  n 

Francis  Stiles  with  a  company  of  about  20 
men  who  arrived  June  16,  1635.  Stiles' party 
were  without  doubt,  after  the  Plymouth  Com- 
pany, the  first  actual  settlers  at  Windsor. 

A  desire  to  emigrate  had  now  seized  upon 
a  large  portion  of  the  residents  at  Dorchester, 
and,  in  a  short  space  of  time,  nearly  one  half  * 
of  its  first  settlers  had  emigrated  to  the  rich 
bottom  lands  of  Connecticut.  The  main 
body  left  Dorchester  as  Winthrop  informs  us 
on  the  1 5th  of  October,  1635.  "About  60 
men,  women  and  children,  went  by  land  toward 
Connecticut  with  their  horses  and  swine."f 
Dr.  Harris  says  that  Mr.  Warham  went 
with  them,  t£  but  did  not  judge  it  expedient  to 
remove  his  family  until  better  accommoda- 
tions could  be  made  for  their  reception.  *  *  * 
They  were  fourteen  days  performing  the  te- 
dious journey  through  the  wilderness.  On 
their  arrival  they  began  their  settlement  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Connecticut  river  not  far 
from  the  mouth  of  Scantic  river.  These  ad- 
venturers were  put  to  great  straits  after  their 
arrival.  The  provisions  they  took  with  them 
were  nearly  exhausted  before  they  arrived. 

* "  Mr.  Warham  and  about  half  ye  church  removed  to 
Windsor  in  Connecticut  colony."  Blake's  Annals  of  Dor- 
chester, p.  14. 

f  History  ofNe-tu  England.     Vol.  I.  p.  204. 


12  Matthew  Grant,  The  Pioneer. 

The  crops  they  raised  were  small  for  they  had 
cleared  but  very  little  of  the  ground  for  til- 
lage :  besides  most  of  their  time  had  been  ne- 

o     ' 

cessarily  devoted  to  the  construction  of  huts 
against  the  winter.  The  winter  came  on  early 
and  was  very  severe."  *  Winthrop  adds : 
"  they  lost  the  greater  part  of  their  cattle  this 
winter  ;  yet,  some  which  came  late,  and  could 
not  be  put  over  the  river,  lived  very  well  all 
the  winter  without  any  hay.  The  people  also 
were  put  to  great  straits  for  want  of  provis- 
ions. They  ate  acorns  and  malt  and  grains. 
They  lost  nearly  £2,000  worth  of  cattle." 
Dr.  Harris  mentions  Matthew  Grant  as 
one  of  the  party  who  left  Dorchester  in  the 
autumn  of  1635. f  A  large  portion  of  this 
company  was  compelled,  however,  to  return 
on  board  the  sloop  Rebecca,  during  the  win- 
ter, to  Massachusetts.  In  the  early  spring, 
April  1 6,  1636,  with  stout  hearts,  the  Dor- 
chester men  renewed  their  efforts,  and  with 
much  better  success.  The  new  settlement, 
like  the  first  they  had  made  in  Massachusetts, 
was  called  by  them  Dorchester,  but,  in  1637, 

*Dr.  Harris1  Account  of  Dorchester,  Mass.  Coll.  Vol.  IX. 

f  Matthew  Grant,  in  his  church  book,  gives  "  A  list  of  those 
members  of  the  church  that  were  so  in  Dorchester,  and  came  up 
here  with  Mr.  Warham,  and  still  are  of  us."  His  own  name  is 
in  the  list.  Stiles'"  Windsor,  p.  844. 


Matthew  Grant,  'The  Pioneer.  13 

by  order  of  the  Court,  the  name  was  changed 
to  Windsor. 

Matthew  Grant  was  chosen,  immediately 
on  his  arrival  in  Windsor,  the  first  Surveyor 
for  the  town,  two  of  which  officers  were  after- 
wards chosen  annually,  and  this  office,  which 
was  one  of  much  responsibility,  he  filled  most 
of  his  life.  About  nine  years  after  his  arrival 
in  Windsor,  his  first  wife,  Priscilla  died,  and 
he  married  on  the  2Qth  of  May,  1645,  m's 
second  wife  Susannah  Rockwell,  the  widow  of 
William  Rockwell.  Mr.  Rockwell  was  an  el- 
derly man,  possessed  of  a  good  estate,  and, 
with  his  wife,  had  been  a  fellow  passenger  with 
Matthew  Grant  from  England  in  the  Mary 
and  John.  He  had  tarried  a  few  years  at 
Dorchester,  and  following  the  tide  of  emigra- 
tion, had  removed  thence  to  Windsor.  In 
1652,  on  the  removal  to  Guilford  of  Dr. 
Bray  Rossiter,  the  first  Town  Clerk,  who  was 
a  man  of  distinction  and  fine  education,  Mat- 
thew Grant  succeeded  him  as  Recorder  or 
Town  Clerk.  "  Few  men,"  says  Dr.  Stiles, 
"  filled  so  large  a  place  in  the  early  history  of 
Windsor,  or  filled  it  so  well  as  honest  Mat- 
thew Grant.  His  name  figures  in  almost 
every  place  of  trust,  and  the  early  records  of 
the  town  show  that  his  duties  were  always  con- 
scientiously performed."*  *  *  cc  He  was  a 


14  Matthew  Grant,  The  Pioneer. 

prominent  man  in  the  church ;  evidently  was 
just  and  exceedingly  conscientious  in  all  his 
public  and  private  transactions  and  duties; 
as  Recorder,  he  often  added  notes  explanatory 
or  in  correction,  to  the  records,  which  have 
considerable  value  to  the  investigator  of  the 
present  day  ;  he  was  the  compiler  of  the  old 
Church  Record  which,  in  the  absence  of  some 
of  the  earliest  records  of  the  town  of  Wind- 
sor, 1 63 5-^50,  assumes  a  value  which  can 
scarcely  be  over-estimated  ;  in  short,  he  was 
a  pious,  hardworking,  conscientious,  Christian 
man,  and  a  model  I'own  Clerk."  * 

He  was  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and  a 
strict  sense  of  duty.  This  is  shown  in  the 
proceedings  connected  with  a  controversy 
which  arose  in  Mr.  Warham's  church,  in  1668, 
when  a  portion  of  the  members  desired  to 
leave  their  first  pastor,  now  grown  old  in  the 
service  of  the  sanctuary,  and  organize  another 
parish  under  the  Rev.  Mr.  Woodbridge.  The 
adherents  of  the  latter  had  called  a  town  meet- 
ing at  which  they  succeeded  in  securing  a  vote 
in  favor  of  giving  the  new  minister  a  hearing, 
but  Matthew  Grant  refused  to  enter  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  meeting  upon  the  records.  The 
entry  appears  however,  on  the  books,  in  a 

*  Stiles'  Windsor,  pp.  59  and  6  35. 


Matthew  Grant,  The  Pioneer.  15 

strange  hand  and  beneath  is  found  a  protest, 
by  the  town  clerk,  as  follows; — "Aug.  8th. 
At  a  town  meeting  warned  by  the  townsmen, 
by  the  desire  of  several  inhabitants,  to  see  the  de- 
sires of  the  town  concerning  giving  Mr.  Wood- 
bridge  a  call  to  preach  once  on  the  Lord's  day, 
and  it  was  voted  by  a  full  vote.  [  So  far,  the 
entry,  is  in  another  handwriting,  then  follows 
the  protest]  : 

"This  as  a  proviso  :  I  here  express  to  clear 
myself  from  having  any  hand  in  assenting  to  the 
warning  of  the  town  meeting,  so  called,  as 
George  Griswold  has  entered  in  this  book 
Aug.  the  8th,  '68,  for  he  and  some  others  came 
to  [my]  house  after  they  had  been  together,  and 
desired  me,  being  the  town  recorder,  to  enter 
their  town  vote,  made  this  day,  that  Mr.  Wood- 
bridge  shall  have  the  liberty  to  preach  on  the 
Sabbath.  I  told  him  I  would  not  have  no  hand 
in  the  business  nor  enter  their  vote.  Then  he  de- 
sired me  to  let  him  have  the  town  Book,  wherein 
I  used  to  enter  such  things.  He  being  a  towns- 
man I  laid  the  book  upon  the  table,  and  there 
he  wrote  himself  what  is  entered  by  his  own 
hand.  This  I  certify. 

Matthew  Grant. 
Augt.  17,  1668." 

The  town  records  of  Windsor  bear  frequent 


1 6  Matthew  Grant,  The  Pioneer. 

testimony  to  the  usefulness  and  efficiency  of 
Matthew  Grant,  as  a  public  surveyor,  and  his 
life  was  certainly  a  busy  and  eventful  one. 
Among  other  entries  in  the  records  we  find  the 
following : — 

"March  24,  [1672].  The  town  met  to 
give  information  to  persons  chosen  to  run  the 
line  between  Windsor  and  Simsbury.  First, 
you  must  understand  that  our  south-bounds 
betwixt  Hartford  and  Windsor  extend  half  a 
mile  beyond  the  Chestnut  tree  westward,  and 
extends  itself  something  beyond  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  where  you  will  find  a  tree  marked, 
and  from  there  you  will  traverse  a  way  by  your 
compass  north  and  by  west,  which  is  the  line 
to  be  set  out  between  Windsor  and  Simsbury, 
and  you  are  carefully  to  extend  this  line  till 
you- meet  with  our  north  bounds. 

MATTHEW  GRANT, 
SAMUEL  MARSHALL, 
JOHN  LOOMIS, 
JACOB  DRAKE, 
THOMAS  STOUGHTON." 

Matthew  Grant,  evidently,  set  a  high  value 
upon  his  personal  integrity.  His  testimony, 
in  a  matter  concerning  lands  in  dispute,  April, 
21,  1675,  between  Joseph  Loomis,  Junior,  and 
Senior,  preserved  in  the  State  Archives  at 
Hartford,  is  as  follows  : — 


Matthew  Grant,  'The  Pianeer.  ij 

"  And  if  any  question  my  uprightness  and 
legal  acting  about  our  town  affairs,  that  I 
have  been  employed  in,  a  measuring  of  land, 
and  getting  out  of  lots  of  men  which  has  been 
done  by  me  from  our  first  beginning  here,  come 
next  Sept.  is  40  yere.  I  never  got  out  any  land 
to  any  man,  until  I  knew  he  had  a  grant  to  it 
from  the  townsmen,  and  town's  approbation  or 
about  recording  after  the  book  was  turned  to 
me,  which  is  near  23  years  since.  I  .can  say 
with  a  cleare  conscience,  I  have  been  careful  to  do 
nothing  upon  one  man's  desire." 

His  name  occurs,  frequently,  as  a  witness  in 
the  purchase  of  lands,  of  which  the  following  will 
serve  as  an  example. 

Mr.  William  Phelps,  Sen.  had  bought,  some 
time  in  1635,  ^an(^  fr°m  Nassahegan,  situated 
in  Poquonnoc,  and,  not  being  able  to  prove  full 
payment  of  the  same,  he,  very  honestly,  bought 
it  over  again.  The  paper  describing  the  trans- 
action is  dated  March  31,  1665  : — 

"  These  presents  testify,  whereas  there  was 
a  parcel  of  land  purchased  formerly  by  Wil- 
liam Phelps  Sen.  living  at  Windsor  about  30 
years  since,  of  Sehat,  an  Indian,  a  Paquanick 
Sachem,  and  I  [Phelps]  not  being  able  to  prove 
full  payment  of  the  said  purchase,  in  considera- 
tion whereof  I  now  engage  to  make  up  the  full 
payment  by  paying  to  the  said  Sehat's  kins- 


1 8  Matthew  Grant,  I'/ie  Pioneer. 

man,  Nassahegan,  Sachem  of  Paquanick,  4 
trucking  coats,  or  what  upon  agreement  shall 
satisfy  them  to  the  value  thereof.  [Here  are 
mentioned  other  conditions,  and  the  bound- 
aries of  the  land.] 

Owned  already  paid  in  two  coats,  and  40^. 
in  wampum  for  a  third  coat,  and  six  bushels  of 
Indian  corn  and  fifteen  shillings  in  wampum 
for  the  fourth  coat ;  and  fifteen  shillings  in  wam- 
pum is  at  six  a  penny. 
(Signed) 

Coggerynosset. 

ASUTHEW, 

Coggerynosset" s  sister. 

PATACKHOUSE, 

Nassahegan  s  sister. 

AMANNAWER, 

Nassahegan 's  sister. 

NASSAHEGAN. 
Witnesses  : 
SAMUEL  PHELPS. 
MATTHEW  GRANT. 
JOHN  BARTLETT. 
TIMOTHY  BUCKLAND.  ". 

The  following  note  or  affidavit,  bearing  no 
date,  is  also  found  in  the  land  records  of  Wind- 
sor. 

"  Coggerynosset  ( Poquonock)  testifies 
that  the  land  on  the  east  side  of  the  Great 


Matthew  Grant,  'The  Pioneer.  19 

River  between  Scantick  and  Namareck  was 
Nassacowen's  and  Nassacowen  was  so  taken  in 
love  with  the  coming  of  the  English  that  he 
gave  it  to  them  for  some  small  matter,  but  he 

D  ' 

knows  of  none  but  the  meadow. 

Coggerynosset. 
Witnesses  : 
Matthew  Grant. 
Jacob  Drake. 
Stephen  Taylor." 

Although  this  Sachem  was  friendly,  never- 
theless the  friendship  of  the  Indians  was  unre- 
liable. Indeed,  the  constant  acquisition  by 
the  whites  of  larger  possessions  aroused  a  jeal- 
ousy and  hostility  in  the  minds  of  the  natives, 
and  Matthew  Grant's  duties  as  a  public  survey- 
or of  lands  which  were  the  hunting  grounds  of 
the  savage  must  have  been  more  than  ordinarily 
perilous.  For  a  period  of  forty-six  years,  ex- 
tending from  the  landing  at  Nantasket  to  the 
death  of  King  Philip  in  1676,  Matthew  Grant 
was  exposed  to  the  hazards  of  Indian  treachery. 
The  best  years  of  his  life  were  passed  among 
savage  enemies.  In  1637,  the  palisado,  had 
been  built,  a  defence  which  was  constructed 
chiefly  of  strong  high  stakes  or  posts  with  a  wide 
ditch  outside.  It  was  in  the  shape  of  a  quad- 
rangle, three-quarters  of  a  mile  long,  and  was 


2o  Matthew  Grant,  tfhe  Pioneer. 

designed  as  a  garrison  or  place  of  refuge  from 
the  Indians.  Its  remains  are  still  visible  at 
Windsor. 

Matthew  Grant  has  furnished  the  following- 

(j 

description  of  it :  "  To  return  again  to  the 
common  ways  from  the  ferry  at  the  rivulet,  it 
ascends  up  upon  the  side  of  the  bank  to  the 
house  that  was  Capt.  Mason's,  and  bounds 
west  by  the  fence  that  was  John  Strong's,  on 
the  top  of  the  bank,  and  east  by  Samuel  Mar- 
shall's at  the  foot  of  the  bank,  and  then  turns 
to  the  gate,  and  is  to  be  three  rods  in  breadth 
betwixt  John  Strong's  garden  on  the  south  and 
Henry  Clark's  on  the  north.  And  seeing  I 
am  intered  into  the  pallasadow,  I  will  speak  a 
little  of  the  original  of  it.  About  1637  years, 
when  the  English  had  war  with  the  Pe- 
quot  Indians,  our  inhabitants  on  Sandy  bank 
gathered  themselves  nearer  together  from  their 
remote  dwellings  to  provide  for  their  safety, 
set  upon  fortyfying,  and  with  palazado,  which 
some  particular  men  resigned  up  out  of  their 
properties  for  that  end  and  was  laid  out  in 
small  parcels  to  build  upon ;  some  4  rods  in 
breadth,  some  five,  six,  seven,  some  eight ;  it 
was  set  out  after  this  manner :  " 


Matthew  Grant,  'T'he  Pioneer. 


21 


PALAZADO  PI.OTT  * 


Cap* 


irSoytorct 


Bvrye'ny 
place 


D.Witson 


Town 
Jiouse 


Grant 


J)ibLe 


JUTCLark 


Marsh  L 


co 
O 


KivuK-t.  60 

Matthew  Grant  had  cleared  six  acres  but 
"resigned  up  "  all  of  it  except  the  cc  small  par- 
cel "  on  which  his  log  dwelling  stood,  within 
the  palisade,  and  next  to  the  town-house,  f 

Captain    John   Mason,    who    commanded 

*  This  description  together  with  the  plot  which  was  made 
by  Matthew  Grant,  are  copied  from  "  A  book  of  Towne  Wayes 
in  Windsor,"  begun  by  him  in  1654.  See  Conn.  His.  Coll.,  p. 
130.,  also  Stilei  Windsor,  p.  121. 

f  Jabez  H- Hayden,  Esq.,  of  Windsor  Locks,  who  has 
made  a  map  of  the  ancient  estates  in  Windsor,  is  able  to  point 
out  the  exact  location  of  Matthew  Grant's  lot.  He  says,  "  He 
had  but  nine  rods  on  the  street,  and  the  Bell  School  House 
stands  now,  I  am  sure,  on  his  lot.  In  what  part  of  his  lot  his 
house  stood,  I  do  not  know.  There  was  only  a  lot  of  four  acres 
between  his  and  the  north  side  of  the  palazado." 


22  Matthew  Grant,  'The  Pioneer. 

successfully  in  the  Pequot  war,  was  appointed 
from  Windsor  and  had  come  from  England 
with  the  goodly  company  in  the  Mary  and 
John.  He  was  a  veteran  who  had  learned 
skill  and  discipline  under  De  Vere  in  the  cam- 
paign of  the  Palatinate,  on  the  continent. 

There  were  thirty  Windsor  men  in  Mason's 
force  which  was  sent  against  the  Pequots.  NIn 
1638,  the  towns  were  placed  by  the  Court  u^on 
a  war  footing.  All  persons  who  were  over 
sixteen  years  of  age  were  ordered,  unless  ex- 
cused, to  bear  arms.  Magazines  of  powder 
and  shot  were  to  be  maintained  in  every  town. 
The  magazine  at  Windsor  was  to  contain  one 
barrel  of  powder  and  300  weight  of  lead. 

But  of  all  the  Indian  wars  of  those  times 
the  most  important  in  regard  to  its  magnitude 
and  its  results  took  place  in  1675,  with  the 
confederate  tribes,  under  King  Philip.  It  was 
the  last  terrible  contest  between  the  Massachu- 
setts, Plymouth  and  Connecticut  colonies  and 
the  Indians,  in  which  the  very  existence  of 
both  belligerents  depended  on  the  issue  ;  de- 
feat to  either  was  annihilation.  We  are  un- 
able, at  this  day,  to  realize  the  consternation 
and  alarm  which  were  experienced  by  our  fore- 
fathers when  the  tocsin  of  war  was  sounded 
for  this  fearful  struggle.  More  than  a  thou- 
sand men, — a  large  army  for  those  days, — 


Matthew  Grant,  'The  Pioneer.  23 

were  enlisted  throughout  New  England  for  a 
winter  campaign  under  Major  General  Josiah 
Winslow,  the  Governor  of  Plymouth  colony. 
Windsor  furnished  one  company  which  was 
commanded  by  Captain  Samuel  Marshall. 

Gen.  Winslow. found  Philip  with  a  large 
body  of  Indians  entrenched  in  the  center  of  a 
swamp  in  Rhode  Island.  After  most  severe 
fighting  and  heavy  losses  the  colonists  were  vic- 
torious.* The  Indians  were  nearly  annihilated, 
and  never  recovered  from  the  blow  received  at 
the  famous  swamp  fight. 

Windsor  shared  with  other  towns  the  sor- 
row and  the  glory  of  that  victory.  Matthew 
Grant  entered  on  the  town  books  this  mourn- 
ful record  :— 

cc  Here    I    set   down   the  deaths  of  several 


*  Of  Massachusetts  men,  Major  Appleton's  company : — 
2  slain,  22  wounded ;  Capt.  Mosely's  9  do.  10  do. ;  Capt. 
Oliver's  5  do.  10  do.  Capt.  Johnson's  3  do.  II  do.  Capt. 
Gardner's,  7  do.  n  do.  Capt  Davenport's  4  do.  15  do. 
.Wounded,  whereof  some  have  died:  Of  Connecticut,  Major 
Treat's  company, — 20.  Capt.  Sealey's,  20.  Capt.  Marshal's, 
14  Capt.  Waite's,  "17.  Of  Plymouth,  Capt.  Bradford's,  and 
Capt.  Gorham's  20.  Troopers,  2.  Lost  in  the  woods,  5. 
Captains  slain,  Davenport,  Johnson,  Gardner,  Marshal,  and 
Gallop,  who  commanded  tineas'  Indians.  Wounded,  Capt. 
Bradford,  Capt.  Sealey,  mortally  it  is  feared  (afterwards  dead), 
Capt.  Mason,'1.  Capt.  White.  ^Lieutenants  wounded,  Savage, 
Ting,  Swan,  and  Upham.  Total  207. 

Drake's  Old  Indian  Chronicle.     1867.   p.  tl84. 

Also,  Hubbard's  Indian  Wars.    p.   1.38. 

•Watts. 

b  From  Conn,  a  son  of  the  celebrated  Capt.  John  Mason. 


24  Matthew  Grant,  'The  Pioneer. 

persons  who  went  against  the  Indians  and  were 
wounded  that  they  died.  It  was  on  the  19^1 
of  December,  167^. 

Capt.  Samuel  Marshal,      Nath'l.  Pond, 

Ebenezer  Dibble,  Richard  Saxton, 

Edward  Chapman." 

John  Fitch  also  died  of  his  wounds. 

Connecticut  suffered  more  seve~~ly  in  this 
battle,  than  any  one  of  her  sister  colonies.  Of 
her  three  hundred  men,  eighty  were  either  kill- 
ed or  wounded.  A  subscription  was  raised  in 
June,  1676,  to  aid  the  sufferers  in  Kisg 
Philip's  war,  to  which  Matthew  Grant  and  his 
sons  Samuel,  Tahan,  and  John  contributed. 
It  was  appropriated,  by  order  of  the  Court, 
chiefly  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  Simsbury  peo- 
ple, whose  town  had  been  burned.  Mr.  Fen- 
imore  Cooper  has  beautifully  narrated  these 
events  in  the  early  Indian  wars  of  New  Eng- 
land in  his  romance,  The  Wept  of  Wish- 
ton-Wish,  the  scene  of  which  is  said  to  be  laid 
in  Windsor.  Some  of  its  incidents  also,  are, 
probably,  borrowed  from  the  histories  of  other 
towns.  At  Hadley,  which  is  a  few  miles  north 
of  Windsor,  the  settlers  were  attacked,  while 
at  church,  when  an  old  man  with  a  long  white 
beard,  who  proved  to  be  one  of  the  fugitive 
judges  of  Charles  the  First,  came  forth  from 
his  hiding  place,  and  led  the  astonished  wor- 


Matthew  Grant,  The  Pioneer.  25 

shippers  to  victory.  The  novelist  makes  ex- 
cellent use  of  this  romantic  occurence. 

Matthew  Grant  resided  during  the  last  years 
of  his  life  with  his  Son  John.  When  he  went 
to  live  with  this  Son  he  was  already,  a  second 
time,  a  widower,  for  his  wife  Susannah  had  died 
eleven  years  before.  The  colonies  now  ex- 
perienced a  cessation  from  Indian  hostilities, 
and  the  decline  of  Matthew  Grant's  life  found 
him  in  the  enjoyment  of  peace  and  tranquillity. 
Soon,  however,  "at  a  full  age,  like  as  a  shock  of 
corn  cometh  in  his  season,"  having  seen  the 

'  O 

goodly  number  of  nearly  four  score  years  the 
pioneer  was  gathered  to  his  long  home. 
Eventful  had  been  his  life.  The  voyage  across 
the  ocean,  the  journey  through  the  wilderness, 
a  home  among  savages ;  he  was  spared  to  see 
the  foundations  of  a  colony  securely  laid,  and 

then  he  entered  into  his  rest. 
2 


CHAPTER    II. 

SAMUEL    GRANT,   SENIOR  J    SAMUEL    GRANT,    JUN- 
IOR J    NOAH    GRANT,    SENIOR. 

SAMUEL  GRANT,  the  oldest  son  and  the 
second  child  of  Matthew,  was  born  in  Dor- 
chester, Mass.,  on  the  I2th  of  November, 
1631,  about  one  year  and  a  half  after  his  pa- 
rents had  landed  at  Nantasket.'  We  have  on 
record  but  few  events  of  his  life.  He  seems  to 
have  been  a  God-fearing,  faithful,  and  indus- 
trious member  of  the  community,  as,  indeed, 
likewise,  were  all  the  family  of  Matthew.  He 
was  baptized  and  taken  into  fellowship  with 
the  Windsor  Church  in  the  twenty-eighth  year 
of  his  age.  About  this  time,  1658-9,  January 
8,  "  at  a  town  meeting  it  was  voted  that  Sam- 
uel Grant  should  try  and  seal  measures  for  the 
town."  Two  years  thereafter  "  the  Townsmen 
made  a  bargain  with  Samuel  Grant  to  shingle 
the  inside  roof  of  the  meeting  house."  cc  He  is 
to  get  the  shingle  in  the  woods  and  cut  them, 
hew  them,  and  lay  them  on  one  inch  and  a 
quarter  thick  generally,  and  seven  inches  in 
breadth  one  with  another."  *  In  1665  he  was 

*  Stiles'  JVindior,  p.  152. 


Samuel  Grant,  Senior.  27 

appointed  with  Thomas  Stoughton,  and  Na- 
thaniel Loomis  "  a  boundgoer  "  with  Hartford 
men,  an  office  which  was  held  in  high  honor, 
and  one  in  almost  constant  commission  by 
reason  of  the  frequent  disputes  between  the 
towns  in  reference  to  their  boundaries.  In 
1672  a  decided  movement  was  made  towards 
the  settlement  of  the  lands  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  and  it  was,  perhaps,  about  this  time, 
or  certainly,  as  early  as  the  year  1674-5  that 
Samuel,  Senior,  became  a  resident  in  that  locali- 
ty. He  settled  in  the  rear  of  the  present  East 
Windsor  Theological  Institute,  on  the  little 
eminence  to  which  Matthew  makes  the  follow- 
ing allusion  in  his  account,  in  the  Church  Rec- 
ord, of  the  great  flood  of  1639  :  <£  It  endam- 
aged  many  cattle  over  the  river,  for  all  the 
ground  there  was  drowned  to  one  little  ridge, 
where  Samuel  Grant  now  lives."  There  is 
preserved  in  the  town  books  a  "  List  of  Per- 
sons on  the  east  side  of  the  Great  River"  who 
were  appointed  in  June,  1 672,  to  work  the  high- 
ways, and  Samuel  Grant's  name  is  found  in  the 
list.  His  name  also  appears  signed,  with  about 
ninety  others,  to  a  petition  to  the  General  As- 
sembly at  Hartford,  in  1680,  for  permission  to 
organize  a  separate  township,  that  they  might 
settle  a  minister  and  enjoy  religious  services 
of  their  own.  The  new  township  was  duly 


28  Samuel  Grant,  Junior. 

organized,  and  in  February,  1687,  the  town 
of  East  Windsor  voted  that  "  Samuel  Grant, 
Senior,  and  Nathaniel  Bissell  shall  have  liberty 
to  set  up  a  saw-mill  with  the  use  of  ten  acres  of 
land  upon  the  brook  that  is  known  by  the  name 
of  Ketch." 

The  descendants  of  Samuel  Grant  still  re- 
side on  the  ancient  homestead  at  East  Wind- 
sor Hill. 

We  know  but  little  of  SAMUEL  GRANT,  Ju- 
nior. He  was  born  in  Windsor  in  1659.  He 
married  first  Hannah  Filley,  and  after  her  de- 
cease Grace  Minor,  the  daughter  of  Captain 
John  Minor,  of  Stratford,  who  was  the  son  of 


Captain  Thomas   Minor,  of  Stonington,  Con- 

+r-fLo?nnS  'tninot-  '' 

necticut.  Captain  Thomas  was  the  first  of  the 
name  in  this  country,  and  was  a  son  of  Wil- 
liam, of  Chew  Magna,  Somersetshire,  England. 
An  ancient  pedigree  of  this  family  from  Henry 
Minor,  who  died  in  1359,  is  preserved.f  Sam- 

*  These  autographs  were  traced  from  the  originals  at  Hartford 
by  Hon.  J.  H.  Trumbull. 

f  Captain  John  Minor  moved  first  to  Stratford  and  after- 
wards to  Woodbury.  He  was  first  and  foremost  among  the  set- 
tlers at  Woodbury,  as  an  interpreter  to  the  Indians,  a  land  sur- 
veyor, a  captain  of  militia,  and  a  deacon  in  the  church.  He  was 
town  clerk  of  Stratford  for  about  ten  years  from  1666,  and  of 


Noah  Grant  of  Holland.  29 

uel  Grant,  Junior,  was,  like  his  father  and  grand- 
father, a  faithful  member  of  the  church,  and  we 
find  his  name  recorded,  in  the  year  1700,  among 
those  who  having  "  Owned  the  Covenant  in 
other  churches,  and  thereby  put  themselves  un- 
der church  watch  have  entered  into  ye  same  state 
in  this  church,  viz.,  ye  Second  Church  of 
Windsor."  He  was  twice  married,  and  left  at 
his  decease  nine  children. 

It  is  here  interesting  to  notice  that  in  the 
first  five  generations  of  the  Grant  family,  the 
Christian  names  of  all  the  descendants  of  Mat- 
thew Grant  were  biblical  names,  with  one  ex- 
ception only,  in  the  family  of  Samuel,  Junior, 
and  if  we  examine  the  eight  names  of  the  eight 
members  constituting  the  pedigree  of  General 
Grant,  from  Matthew  Grant,  we  shall  discover 
that  seven  of  these  also  were  biblical  names,  a 
fact  illustrative  of  the  religious  character  of  our 
forefathers,  as  well  as  of  a  singular  custom,  in 
this  respect,  which  prevailed  among  them.  Cap- 
tain Noah  Grant,  the  grandfather  of  General 
Grant,  was  the  first  to  depart,  in  any  consider- 
able degree,  from  this  custom,  for,  in  a  family 


Woodbury  for  thirty  years,  from  its  beginning.  He  was  also,  for 
twenty  years,  almost  always,  a  member  of  the  General  Court. 
Cotherns  Ancient  Woodbury,  p.  58.  See  also  N.  E.  Hist,  and  Gen. 
Reg.  Vol.  XIII.  pp.  161,  164.  Captain  Thomas  Minor  was  of 
equal  distinction  among  the  early  settlers  at  New  London  and 
Stonington.  See  Hollister's  Hist.  Conn,  zd  ed.,  Vol.  I.  p.  515. 


3<D  Noah  Grant  of  To  Hand. 

of  ten  children,  he  has  given  eight  of  them 
Scriptural  names,  and  the  other  two  unscrip- 
tural  ones. 

NOAH  GRANT,  the  son  of  Samuel  Grant, 
Junior,  was  born  at  the  Homestead  in  East 
Windsor,  Dec.  16,1692.  He  married  Martha 
Huntington,  of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  who 
was  descended  from  Christopher  Huntington 
and  his  wife  Ruth  Rockwell,  daughter  of  Susan- 
nah Rockwell.  Samuel  Huntington,  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  Governor  of  the  State  of  Connecticut, 
and  General  Jedediah  Huntington,  of  revolu- 
tionary fame,  were  of  this  family.  The  Hon. 
J.  Hammond  Trumbull  remarks:  "The  de- 
scent of  the  General  from  both  wives  of  Mat- 
thew is  curious.  Martha  Huntington  who 
married  the  first  Noah  Grant  being  the  great 
granddaughter  of  Susannah  (the  second  wife 
of  Matthew)  by  her  first  husband  William 
Rockwell."  Noah  Grant,  the  first  of  this 
name,  was  a  resident  of  East  Windsor  until 
the  town  of  Tolland,  which  is  situated  twenty 
miles  east-northeast  from  Hartford  in  the 
county  of  Tolland,  was  settled,  when  he  be- 
came an  inhabitant  of  the  new  town.  Mr. 
Trumbull  says  again  : 

"  Nathaniel,  son  of  the  first  Samuel,  Noah, 
and  his  elder  brother,  Samuel  Grant  third 


Noah  Grant  of  Holland.  31 

and  John  Grant,  their  cousin,  were  petitioners 
in  May,  1713,  for  the  incorporation  of  the  new 
town,  afterwards  named  Tolland.  In  April 
of  that  year,  the  Committee  appointed  by  the 
town  of  Windsor  to  lay  out  lands  which  had 
been  purchased  formerly  from  the  Indians  to 
settlers  in  the  proposed  new  town,  then  be- 
longing to  Windsor,  granted  and  set  out  lots, 
among  others,  to  Noah  Grant,  to  his  cousin, 
Thomas  Grant,  Joseph  and  Josiah  Rockwell, 
and  others  of  the  family  connection.  They  as- 
signed seventeen  lots  of  forty  acres  each.  The 
first  settlement  in  Tolland  was  southwest  of  the 
centre  of  the  township,  on  what  has  been 
known,  nearly  from  the  time  of  the  settlement, 
as  Grant's  Hill."  [Major  F.  W.  Grant,  of 
East  Windsor,  says  that  his  grandfather  also, 
Captain  Ebenezer  Grant,  owned  land  at 
Grant's  Hill.]  "The  lot  granted  to  Noah 
Grant  can  still  be  identified.  It  was  the  sixth 
described  in  the  record  of  the  Committee. 
His  house  was  about  two  miles  southwest  of 
Tolland  meeting  house,  and  he  was  occupying 
it  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  1718,  perhaps 
half  a  year  earlier.  His  eldest  son,  Noah, 
was  in  all  probability  born  here,  and  not  in 
Windsor,  as  the  Genealogical  Register  has 
it.  In  Waldo's  History  of  Tolland,*  it  is 

*Pp.  5,  6,  7,  122,  123. 


32  Noah  Grant  of  Holland. 

said  that  he  came  to  Tolland  (  before  1720, 
but  in  the  Tolland  Records  it  is  mentioned 
that  a  town  meeting  which  was  held  Feb. 
1717-18,  granted  him  a  lot  of  land  £  over 
against  his  house  cross  the  highway,'  and  in  a  pe- 
tition dated  April  15,  1717,  Noah,  Thomas, 
and  Nathaniel  describe  themselves  as  inhabi- 
tants of  Tolland."* 

This  petition  is  as  follows : — 

"To  ye  Honb  the  Govenor,  Debeter  Gove- 
nor  Counsel  and  Representatives  of  y°  Ginrael 
Cort  Asembled  H olden  At  Hartford  May 
9,  1717.  The  Humbel  pertission  of  our  Sub- 
scribers Inhabitants  of  Toland  Is  as  folereth. 
Wharasts  ouer  Number  being  Considerabel  In 
Crest  We  pray  y*  We  May  Have  town  privi- 
lidg  Granted  to  ous  y*  We  may  be  Abel  to 
Maintain  and  uphold  Good  Orders  Amongst 
ous  and  Not  Lef  to  perish  for  Lack  of  Vision 
&c.  Dated  Toland  April  15,  1717. 

WILLIAM  EATON,      ANTHONY  SLAFTER, 
MOSES  LOOMIS,         JOSEPH  MATHER, 
NOAH  GRANT,  SAMUEL  GRANT, 

JOHN  HUNTINGTON,  SAMUEL  ROCKWELL, 
JOSIAH  ROCKWELL,     THOMAS  GRANT, 
NATHANIEL  GRANT,   HEZEKIAH  PORTER, 
&c."  f 

*  Conn.  Archives,    «  Towns  and  Lands,"  Vol.  5.  Doc.  46. 
f  Notes  from  the  records  at  Hartford  furnished  by  Dr.  Stiles, 


Noah  Grant  of  Holland.  .    33 

In  December  of  the  same  year  the  town  was 
organized  by  the  election  of  a  full  set  of  officers, 
town  meetings  began  to  be  held  and  town  busi- 
ness transacted,  apparently  with  full  powers. 
Early  in  the  next  year,  1818,  at  a  town  meeting 
all  the  bonafide  residents  in  the  town  were  as- 
certained and  recorded. 

Like  his  forefathers,  Noah  Grant  seems  to 
have  been  a  zealous  supporter  of  church  wor- 
ship, and  we  find  the  following  entry  in  the 
town  records  bearing  date  June  19,  1723  ; 

"  Voted)  That  the  church  hath  liberty  to  or- 
dain Mr.  Stephen  Steel  pastor  of  a  church  in 
Toland.  Voted,  That  the  charge  of  Mr.  Steel's 
ordination  be  done  at  the  expense  of  the  town. 
Voted,  That  Noah  Grant  shall  be  one  to  see 
that  provision  be  made  for  the  ordination  of 
Mr.  Steel."  * 

He  served  also,  as  a  selectman  of  the  new 
town  in  1722,  '24,  and  '25. 

After  a  life  of  great  activity  and  usefulness, 
Noah  Grant,  first,  died  in  Tolland,  October 
1 6,  1727,  leaving  four  children,  Noah,  Adon- 
iram,  Solomon  and  Martha.  His  widow  Mar- 
tha married,  afterwards,  Peter  Buell  of  Coven- 


and  made  originally,  by  Sydney  Stanley  Esq.     Mr.  Stanley,  also, 
as  well  as  Mr.  Trumbull,  has  found  indisputable  evidence  from 
deeds,  and  other  papers,  that  Noah  Grant  was  from  Windsor. 
*  Waldo's  Early  History  of  Tolland,  p  30. 
2* 


34  Noah  Grant  of  Holland. 

try.  This  entry  is  found  in  the  first  Book  of 
Coventry  Records  ;  "  Lieut.  Peter  Buell  and 
Martha  Grant  his  wife,  were  married  January 

y°7,  1728-9."* 

General  Peter  Buell  Porter  of  Niagara 
Falls,  a  native  of  Salisbury,  Connecticut,  the 
Secretary  of  War  under  John  Quincy  Adams 
was  the  great  grandson  of  Martha  Buell. 
Jesse  Root  Grant  is  also  her  great  grandson. 
Don  Carlos  Buell,f  a  general  in  the  late  war, 
was  also  of  this  family,  and  these  Buells  are, 
probably,  descended  from  William  Buell  the 
pioneer  at  Windsor. 

*  Many  of  these  facts  are  from  notes  furnished  by  Dr.  Porter, 
of  Coventry. 

Mr.  Wheeler  adds  that  Peter  Buell  and  Martha  his  wife  had 
five  children,  one  of  whom,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Buell,  was  an  eminent 
divine  and  preached  on  Long  Island.  He  was  the  immediate 
predecessor  of  the  Rev.  Lyman  Beecher,  at  Easthampton.  He 
was  born  Sep.  i,  1716,  and  died  in  1798.  Thompson's  Hist.  L.  I. 
p.  194. 

f  He  was  not  a  relative  of  the  Grants. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CAPTAIN  NOAH  GRANT  OF  THE  FRENCH   AND 

INDIAN  WAR CAPTAIN   NOAH   GRANT  OF 

THE  REVOLUTION. 

NOAH  GRANT  the  Second  of  this  name 
was  born  in  Tolland  July  12,  1718.  His 
father  died  when  he  was  nine  years  of  age  and 
his  mother  having  married  Lieut.  Buell,  the 
family  removed  to  Coventry.  It  appears  from 
the  Tolland  records  that  he  returned  to  Tol- 
land to  reside  and  when  he  was  twenty-eight 
years  of  age,  married  Susannah,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  Delano,  a  worthy  citizen  of  Tol- 
land, who  was  descended  from  a  pioneer,  Philip 
De  La  Noye,*  who  came  to  this  country  in 
1621.  Noah  Grant  removed  again  to  Coven- 
try about  1750.  He  was  thirty-six  years  of 
age,  when  the  French  and  Indian  war  was  com- 

D     ' 

menced,  and  a  call  was  made  for  colonial  troops. 
New  England  surpassed  the  other  colonies  in 
the  alacrity  with  which  she  entered  into  this  con- 
test. Five  thousand  men  were  to  be  raised  in 
New  England,  Connecticut  furnishing  one- 
fifth  of  them,  for  an  attack  upon  Crown  Point. 
Israel  Putnam  was  appointed,  in  1755,  a  captain 

*  See  the  Hon.  Mr.  Trumbull's  contribution  in  reference  to 
he  Delano  family,  in  Part  II.  of  this  work. 


3  6         Captain  Noah  Grant,  ^he  First. 

in  Genl.  Lyman's  Regiment,  of  one  of  the  Con- 
necticut companies  from  Windham  county 
which  borders  upon  Tolland.  Capt.  Ebenezer 
Grant,  the  uncle  of  the  second  Noah,  com- 
manded in  the  same  war,  at  a  later  period,  a 
company  from  Windsor.  He  was  then  about 
forty  years  of  age.  Noah  Grant  the  second, 
and  Solomon  his  brother  took  the  field,  early, 
though  in  different  companies. 

" The  troops,"  says  Hildreth,  "destined 
for  the  Crown  Point  expedition,  some  six  thou- 
sand men,  drawn  from  New  England,  New 
Jersey  and  New  York,  advancing  under  Gen. 
Lyman  of  Connecticut  to  the  head  of  boat  nav- 
igation on  the  Hudson,  built  there  Fort  Ly- 
man, called  afterwards  Fort  Edward.  Johnson 
(who  was  afterwards  knighted,)  joined  them 
with  the  stores  and  artillery,  assumed  the  com- 
mand and  advanced  to  Lake  George."  * 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Trumbull,  who  has  given 
the  colonial  records  .and  archives  at  Hartford 
a  careful  examination,  is  of  the  opinion  that 
Noah  Grant  ''enlisted  in  one  of  the  two  regi- 
ments under  Lyman,  ordered  to  be  raised  by  the 
March  Assembly.  These  regiments  were  full 
and  on  their  way  north,  by  the  end  of  June. 
Putnam  and  Grant  were  both  employed  in 

*  Hildreth" s  United.  States  y  Vol.  II.  p.  462. 


Captain  Noah  Grant,   tfhe  First.        37 

rebuilding  and  strengthening  Fort  Lyman, 
in  the  November  following,  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  both  helped  to  build  it,  in  July 
and  August.  Grant's  first  appearance  in 
service,  so  far  as  can  be  learned  from 
the  records,  is  on  the  scouting  party  with 
Rodgers  and  Putnam  from  the  camp  at  Lake 
George  from  Oct.  29,  to  Nov.  3,  1755.*  He 
was  then  Lieutenant  Grant.  If  he  had  been  a 
new-comer  to  the  camp,  he  could  hardly  have 
been  selected  for  such  a  service.  He  had 
doubtless  been  long  enough  with  the  army  to 
acquire  some  knowledge  of  the  country." 

Meanwhile  the  French  commander  Baron 
Dieskau,  Johnson  being  encamped  at  Lake 
George,  had  ascended  Lake  Champlain  intend- 
ing to  surprise  Fort  Edward.  A  body  of  the 
English  having  been  sent  out  against  him  was 

*  "Camp  at  Lake  George,  Nov.  3,  1755.  Report  of  Capt. 
Rodgers  and  company,  of  their  skirmish  with  the  enemy's  advanc- 
ed Guard." 

Captain  Rodgers  states  that  after  reconnoitering  on  the  zgth 
of  October  and  discovering  a  "Small  Fort  and  several  small  Log 
Camps  within  ye  Fort,"  afterwards  two  canoes  appearing  and  find- 
ing there  was  a  party  coming  by  land  "  I  ordered  Two  Battoes  into 
yc  water  Lieut.  Grant  with  6  men,  and  I  went  into  ye  other  with  6 
men  and  Put  on  Board  Each  a  Wall  piece  and  Went  out  towards 
ye  canoes."  After  a  two  hours  engagement,  both  on  land  and  water, 
Capt.  Putnam  being  in  charge  of  the  party  on  shore,  they  were 
victorious,  with  none  killed  and  but  one  wounded,  and  made  "ye 
Best  of  their  way  to  Headquarters."  (  Signed.) 

"  ROBERT  RODGERS, 
ISRAEL  PUTNAM, 
NOAH  GRANT." 

Doc.  Hist.  N.  T.  O'Callaghan.  Vol.  4  pp.  176-7. 


38         Captain  Noah  Grant,  'The  First. 

repulsed  on  the  8th  of  September,  1755, 
when  Dieskau  having  followed  the  fugitives  in- 
to camp  was  driven  back  and  mortally  wound- 
ed. Gen.  Johnson  was  also  wounded  early  in 
the  action,  and  the  command  having  devolved 
on  Gen  Lyman,  to  him  and  the  Connecticut 
troops  belongs  the  honor  of  winning  victory 
from  apparent  disaster.  Lieutenant  Noah 
Grant  was  probably  in  this  battle.  Instead  of 
following  up  his  success,  Gen.  Johnson  now 
allowed  the  French  to  entrench  themselves  at 
Ticonderoga  and  employed  himself  in  erecting, 
at  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake  George, 
Fort  William  Henry. 

Mr.  Trumbull  continues  here  his  narra- 
tive : 

"  In  October  it  was  decided  to  discharge 
the  volunteers,  excepting  six  hundred  to  be 
engaged  in  garrisoning  Fort  Edward  and  Fort 
William  Henry,  and  rebuilding  the  former 
fort.  In  this  service  Noah  Grant  re-enlisted, 
Nov.  23,  and  was  appointed  to  oversee  the 
masons  employed  at  Fort  Edward.  His 
weekly  returns,  addressed  to  f  Colonel  Whit- 
ing, Commandant,'  show  the  number  of  men 
employed,  Dec.  3d  to  Dec.  2ist.  His  own 
time,  in  the  same  service,  is  entered  from  Dec. 
i  to  Jan.  26.  His  pay-roll  for  service  in 
command  of  the  Connecticut  company  in  gar- 


Captain  Noah  Grant,  ¥he  First.        39 

rison  at  Fort  Edward*  shows  that  he  served 
from  Nov.  23d,  1755, — c  Time  of  Enlistment* 
—  to  March  26,  1756  —  f  Discharged  ' — on 
which  day  he  again  re-enlisted  for  the  next 
campaign,  having  been  promoted  to  the  cap- 
taincy of  the  7th  company  in  the  2d  (Woos- 
ter's)  Connecticut  regiment.  His  Pay  Roll 
and  General  Account  were  presented  by  him 
June  21,  1756,  at  Windsor.  He  gave  an  or- 
der for  the  payment  of  the  amount  due  him  to 
£  Captain  Ebenezer  Grant,'  of  Windsor."f 

The  subject  of  our  narrative  had  distin- 
guished himself  so  greatly  in  the  campaign 
just  ended  that  his  services  received  special  no- 
tice from  the  Colonial  authorities,  and,  in 
May,  1756,  the  Connecticut  Assembly  granted 
to  "Captain  Israel  Putnam  the  number  of 
fifty  Spanish  milled  dollars,  and  thirty  such 
dollars  to  Captain  Noah  Grant,  as  a  gratuity 
for  their  extraordinary  services  and  good  con- 
duct in  ranging  and  scouting,  the  winter  past, 
for  the  annoyance  of  the  enemy  near  Crown 
Point."! 


*Mr.  Trumbull  states  in  another  letter  that  Grant  "Render- 
ed a  bill  to  the  Colony,  dated  'Fort  Edward,  Deer.  16,  1755,' 
for  '15  days1  work  hewing  timber  for  the  Barrack,  framing, 
&C.,'  and  '  Jan.  26,  To  26  Days'  work,  masonry,  &c.,'  attested 
by  him  as  *  Overseer  of  the  Masons.'"  Conn.  Archives,  "  War?' 
Vol.  V.  Doc.  285. 

f  See  his  autograph  on  page  40. 

t  Hollisttr,  Hist.  Conn.  Vol.  II.  p.  58. 


4O         Captain  Noah  Grant,   The  First. 


This   signature  was    traced     by    Mr.  Trumbull  from    the 
original  order  in  the  archives  at  Hartford. 


Captain  Noah  Grant,   The  First.        41 

Captain  Noah  Grant  remained  in  garrison 
with  his  company  several  months  at  Forts 
William  Henry  and  Edward  with  other  hardy 
American  rangers,  one  of  whom  was  Lieuten- 
ant John  Stark,  afterwards  a  successful  gene- 
ral of  the  Revolution.  Early  in  the  spring  of 
1756,  preparations  were  begun  by  the  Colo- 
nists for  a  vigorous  campaign.  A  force  of 
seven  thousand  men,  thoroughly  equipped, 
was  gathered  at  Lake  George  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  General  Winslow,*  but  after  the 
capture  of  Oswego  by  the  French  in  August, 
General  Winslowwas  ordered  not  to  proceed  on 
his  intended  expedition  against  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point,  but  to  fortify  his  camp  so  as  to 
guard  against  any  attack  which  might  be  made 
on  it,  and  to  endeavor  to  prevent  the  enemy . 
from  penetrating  into  the  country  by  the  way 
of  South  Bay  or  Wood  Creek  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  Meanwhile  Forts  Edward  and  William 
Henry  were  put  in  a  proper  posture  of  defence 
and  secured  with  numerous  garrisons/}*  Many 
small  scouting  parties  were  sent  out  now  from 
the  forts  against  the  enemy,  and  the  subject  of 
our  narrative,  Captain  Noah  Grant,  was  fre- 
quently a  companion  of  these  courageous 

*  Grandson  of  the  second  governor  of  Plymouth,  Mass.,  of 
that  name. 

f  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  Vol.  I.  p.  327.  Macauley's 
Hist.  N.  Y.  Vol.  III.  p.  23- 


42         Captain  Noah  Grant,  The  First. 

rangers   in   their  perilous  expeditions.     "  On 
the  soth  of  September,  1756,  at  Fort  William 
Henry,  Lieutenant  Kennedy*  of  the  regulars, 
who  had  been  out  on  a  scout  about  forty  days 
with  some  of  the  Mohawks  and  Highlanders 
went  into  several  of  the  enemy's  settlements ;  and 
after  making  what  discovery  they  could  of  the 
situation  and  strength  of  the  country,  burned 
some  houses,  and  a  great  quantity  of  board  and 
some  storehouses — one  especially  that  contained 
a  very  large  quantity  of  cordage,  canvas,  and 
other  naval  and  warlike  stores — and  other  dam- 
ages to  the  amount  as  he  supposed  of  8  or  ,£10,- 
ooo  sterling.     He  brought  one  scalp  and  two 
prisoners,  who  were  the  tavern  keeper  and  his 
wife ;    whose    house,   with    others,   they    also 
burned.    They  went  out  with  sixty  at  first,  but 
reduced  them  to  eight  when  he  was  out,  to  pre- 
vent discovery.     They  all  returned  but  three  ; 
viz.,  Captain  Grant,  of  Connecticut,  and  a  cadet 
of  the  regulars,  and  one  of  the  Highlanders — a 
poor  drunken  fellow,  not  able  to  travel,  they 
left  behind  to   surrender  himself  to  the  ene- 
my."f 

*  A  lieutenant  of  the  British  regulars  "  ranked  "  a  Captain 
(Grant)  of  the  colonial  troops. 

f  Nile?  French  and  Indian  Wars  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Vol,  V 
fourth  Ser.  p.  427.  After  having  examined  several  biographies  oi 
General  Grant,  the  writer  is  convinced  that  he  is  the  first  to  give, 
at  the  present  day,  a  correct  account  of  the  manner  and  the  place 
of  the  death  of  this  most  distinguished  member  of  the  Grant  fam- 


Captain  Noah   Grant,   The  First.        43 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Trumbull  informs  us  that 
Captain  Grant's  "  Pay  Roll  for  1756  was  set- 
tled by  his  Lieutenant,  Medina  Fitch  Jan.  28, 
1757,  but  the  Captain's  name  does  not  appear 
on  it,  except  in  the  heading." 

Thus  was  ended,  honorably,  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War,  and  in  the  service  of  his 
country,  the  career  of  this  brave  captain,  Noah 
Grant,  the  great-grandfather  of  General  Grant. 
The  records  which  are  preserved  of  his  services 
are  convincing  proof  that  he  displayed  a  cour- 
age, heroism,  and  intelligence  which  were  not 
surpassed  by  Israel  Putnam,  John  Stark,  or 
any  of  the  best  captains  of  his  day,  and,  had 
his  life  been  spared,  we  should  doubtless  have 
found  his  name  among  those  of  the  foremost 
generals  of  the  Revolution. 

His  brother  Solomon  also  perished  about 
this  time  while  in  command  of  a  scouting  par- 
ty near  Williamstown,  Massachusetts.*  This 
brother  was  a  bachelor,  and  left  a  will  which  is 
still  preserved  in  the  probate  records  at  Wind- 

ily.  One  of  the  best  biographers  of  General  Grant  has  made  the 
mistake  of  locating  Captain  Noah's  death  at  Oswego,  which  is 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant  from  the  true  place. 
Another  biographer  informs  us  that  his  death  took  place  at  the 
battle  with  Dieskau,  which  was  one  year  too  early. 

The  author  is  indebted  to  the  Astor  Library  for  the  above 
most  valuable  contribution  to  the  family  history  of  General 
Grant — a  statement  of  facts  which  Jesse  R.  Grant,  Esq.,  declares 
is  new  to  him. 

*  See  Hon.  Mr.  Trumbull's  Notes  on  Lieut.  Solomon  page 
156  of  this  work. 


44        Captain  Noah  Granf,  The  Second. 

ham,  the  adjoining  town  to  Coventry,  be- 
queathing his  property  valued  at  £900  sterling 
to  Noah.  The  Hon.  Richard  A.  Wheeler  was 
the  first  to  call  public  attention  to  the  exist- 
ence of  this  will.  He  says  :  "  I  can  prove  in 
a  court  of  justice  the  connection  of  the  Gene- 
ral with  Noah  Grant  of  Dr.  Stiles'  History  of 
Windsor.  The  proof  exists  in  the  Hartford 
and  Windham  probate  records,  and  in  the  town 
records  of  Tolland  and  Coventry." 

CAPTAIN  NOAH  GRANT,  the  third  of  this 
name,  the  son  of  Noah  Grant  and  Susannah 
Delano,  was  born  in  Tolland  June  20,  1748, 
about  two  years  before  the  removal  of  the  fam- 
ily to  Coventry.  When  his  valiant  father,  the 
famous  captain  of  scouts  at  Lake  George,  lost 
his  life  in  the  expedition  of  which  some  account 
has  already  been  given,  Noah  Grant,  the  third, 
was  a  lad  eight  years  old  and  the  elder  of  two 
sons.  It  was  a  hard  fate  to  be  left  fatherless 
at  a  tender  age,  but  we  shall  find  that  his  whole 
life  was  a  stormy  one,  for  his  lot  was  cast  in 
those  troublous  times  which  "  tried  mens' 
souls,"  with  a  generation  of  heroic  champions 
of  liberty  who  defied  and  beat  down  the  power 
of  the  British  King  in  these  his  colonies,  and 
established  on  its  ruins  a  free  and  independent 
nation.  As  Matthew  Grant  was  a  founder  in 
the  wilderness  of  one  of  these  colonies,  so,  in 


Captain  Noah  Grant^  'The  Second.         45 

a  later  age,  was  Captain  Noah  Grant  of  the 
Revolution,  one  of  the  founders  in  blood  and 
suffering  of  this  mighty  republic. 

We  are  unable  to  appreciate  the  sentiments 
which  filled  the  hearts  of  our  forefathers  when 
the  storm-cloud  of  war  burst  upon  the  coun- 
try, and  throughout  the  provinces  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut,  especially,  was  the 
excitement  most  intense.  The  bloody  massa- 
cre at  Lexington  by  British  troops  sent  out  by 
General  Gage,  the  royal  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, from  Boston,  summoned  the  whole 
people  to  arms.  To  illustrate  the  spirit  which 
prevailed  everywhere  we  are  told  that  "  Mat- 
thew Buell,  a  farmer  of  Connecticut,  was 
plowing  in  the  field  when  news  came  that  blood 
had  been  shed;  he  instantly  unyoked  his  cat- 


— The  evidence  as  to  General  Grant's  descent  from  Matthew 
Grant  may  be  summed  up  as  follows  : 

1.  The  line  (i)  Matthew  Grant,  (2)  Samuel  Grant,  (3)  Sam'l 
Grant    is   established  from    Matthew   Grant's    Note   Book,  his 
Church  Book,  and  the  Windsor  town  records. 

2.  That  Noah  Grant  I.   removed  from  Windsor  to  Tolland 
has  been  proved  from  the  archives  at  Hartford.     Waldo's  Early 
History  of  Tolland  (p.  122)  has  the  following  entry  in  the  record 
of  the  children  of  this   Noah  Grant:    "Noah,  born  July  12, 
1718,  Solomon,  born  Jan.  29,  1723,"  also,  in  reference  to  Noah 
Grant  II. — "  One  Noah  Grant  married  Susannah,  daughter  of  Jon- 
athan Delano  Nov.  5, 1746,  and  had  one  son,  Noah,  born  June  20, 
1 748."     This  last,  Noah  Grant  III.,  was  the  grandfather  of  Gene- 
ral Grant.     The  entailment  to  him  of  the  estate  of  Lieutenant 
Solomon  Grant,  which  is  mentioned  by  the  Rev.  Marvin  Root 
corroborates  the  above  statements.     Thus  we  see,  that  the  fact 
of  General  Grant's  descent  from  Matthew  Grant  could  be  proved 
in  a  court  of  justice. 


46        Captain  Noah  Grant,  'The  Second. 

tie,  and  leaving  his  plough  standing  in  the  fur- 
row, repaired  to  the  house  to  take  leave  of  his 
wife  and  family.  Putnam,  who  was  also  at 
work  in  the  field,  did  the  same,  starting  for 
Cambridge  without  waiting  to  change  his  ap- 
parel. Stark  was  sawing  pine  logs  without 
his  coat ;  he  shut  down  the  gate  of  his  mill, 
and  commenced  the  journey  to  Boston  in  his 
shirt  sleeves."*  It  is  not  merely  a  pleasing 
fiction  of  the  poet,  but  a  fact  in  history  that 

"  They  left  the  ploughshare  in  the  mold, 
Their  flocks  and  herds  without  a  fold, 
The  sickle  in  the  unshorn  grain, 
The  corn,  half-garnered,  on  the  plain, 
And  mustered  in  their  simple  dress, 
For  wrongs  to  seek  a  stern  redress ; 
To  right  those  wrongs,  come  weal,  come  wo, 
To  perish,  or  overcome  their  foe." 

Noah  Grant  took  the  field  with  the  first 
party  who  marched  to  avenge  the  outrage  at 
Lexington.^  He  was  then  twenty-seven  years 
of  age,  an  age  suitable  for  military  service. 
At  the  first  drum-beat  for  independence,  having 
received  an  appointment  as  a  lieutenant  of 
militia,  he  hastened  forward  to  the  scene  of 
danger.  He  remained  on  duty  with  the  army 

*Mrs.  Ellefs  Domestic  Hist,  of  the  Am.  Rev.  p.  32. 

fMore  than  one  hundred  men  set  out  from  Coventry,  and 
there  were  but  few  towns  in  the  State  which  were  not  represented 
at  Lexington  and  Boston,  immediately  after  the  alarm  reached 
Connecticut.  Hinman"s  Amer.  Re<v.  p.  22. 


Captain  Noah  Grant,  The  Second.        47 

gathered  at  Cambridge,  under  Generals  Arte- 
mas  Ward  and  Israel  Putnam,  and  shared  in 
the  glory,  the  excitements,  and  the  perils 
which  attended  the  victorious  engagement  and 
subsequent  defeat  at  Bunker  Hill.  It  is 
probable  that  he  was  not  called  into  action  at 
the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  but  formed  part 
of  the  reserve  which  was  stationed  by  order  of 
General  Ward  at  Cambridge. 

General  Washington  was  appointed  by 
Congress,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Con- 
tinental army,  and  arrived  in  camp  at  Cam- 
bridge July  2,  1775.  Here  he  found  gathered 
together  an  army  of  fourteen  thousand  five 
hundred 'men  who  were  mostly  raw  and  undis- 
ciplined troops.  His  first  duty  was  to  organize 
this  army  and  prepare  it  for  effective  service 
against  the  veteran  regiments  of  British  regu- 
lars. The  subject  of  our  narrative,  Lieutenant 
Noah  Grant,  was  not  lost  sight  of  in  this  in- 
spection and  reorganization  of  the  army  by  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  his  commission  as  a 
lieutenant  was  renewed,  by  Washington's  orders, 
in  the  Continental  army. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the 
British,  General  Washington  hastened  forward 
to  New  York,  anticipating  the  design  of  the 
enemy  to  capture  that  city.  The  arrival  of 
General  Howe,  the  disastrous  battle  on  Long 


48        Captain  Noah  Grant,  tfhe  Second. 

Island,  and  the  retreat  to  Harlem  River,  fol- 
lowed in  quick  succession.  In  all  the  various 
engagements  and  movements  of  the  Conti- 
nental army,  in  this  campaign,  the  sons  of 
Connecticut  bore  a  most  conspicuous  part. 
General  Putnam,  the  brave  Colonel  Knowlton 
who  was  killed  at  Harlem  Heights,  and  a  host 
of  others  represented  the  State  of  Connecticut. 
The  chivalrous  Captain  Nathan  Hale,  who  was 
hung  as  a  spy,  and  whose  last  words  were,  "If 
I  had  ten  thousand  lives,  I  would  lay  them 
down  in  defence  of  my  injured,  bleeding  coun- 
try," was  a  native  of  Coventry,  Connecticut, 
and  was,  without  doubt,  a  friend  and  compan- 
ion, in  his  earlier  years,  of  Lieutenant  Grant. 
The  old  Beekman  mansion  is  still  standing,  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  greenhouse  near 
which,  Captain  Hale  received  his  trial  and  con- 
demnation. 

A  succession  of  disasters  to  the  American 
arms,  at  this  time,  threw  into  the  hands  of  the 
British  many  thousand  prisoners,  and  it  be- 
came a  difficult  task  to  provide  adequately  for 
their  comfortable  subsistence.  We  shall  not 
attempt  a  recital  of  the  horrors  of  the  prison 
houses,  among  which  were  the  Sugar  House, 
the  New  Bridewell,  the  New  Jail,  and  the 
prison  ships  at  the  Wallabout.  We  have  made 
allusion  to  the  terrible  sufferings  of  our  coun- 


Captain  Noah  Grant ,  T^he  Second.         49 

trymen  in  these  dismal  dungeons  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  mentioning  the  name  of  one  who 
was  evidently  a  kinsman  of  Lieutenant  Noah 
Grant,  although  the  author  is  unable  to  trace 
the  relationship.  There  is  found  in  a  list  of 
American  prisoners  who  were  exchanged  at 
New  York,  Dec.  17,  1780,  by  Abraham  Skin- 
ner, the  commissary  general  of  prisoners,  the 
name  of  Jesse  Grant,  who  was  a  lieutenant  in 
Colonel  Webb's  regiment  of  Connecticut 
troops.  * 

The  similarity  of  the  names  of  this  Lieu- 
tenant Jesse  Grant  and  of  the  father  of  Gen- 
eral Grant  is  certainly  remarkable. 

In  the  absence  of  exact  evidence  as  to  the 
campaigns  and  actions  in  which  Lieutenant 
Noah  Grant  served  during  the  whole  period  of 
the  revolution,  we  are  left  somewhat  to  conjec- 
ture. It  is  probable  that  there  were  intervals 
of  furlough  after  certain  periods  of  enlistment, 
and  some  portion  of  this  service  was  evidently 
rendered  with  the  militia  of  his  native  State,  in 
extraordinary  campaigns  and  expeditions,  and 
not  in  the  continental  line.  Among  the  many 
calls  for  troops  to  serve  in  the  State,  were  those 
for  New  London,  Groton,  New  Haven,  Fair- 

*  Sa/eirs  Records  of  the  Rev.  War,  p.  322.  His  name  is 
found  also  in  Hlnman's  Am.  Rev.  p.  235.  Among  the  officers  en- 
titled to  half  pay  (Saffell,  p.  420)  is  the  name  of  Lieutenant  Benoni 
Qrant,  from  Connecticut. 


50         Captain  Noah  Grant,  'The  Second. 

field  and  Danbury,  and  out  of  the  State,  be- 
sides the  call  for  Boston  in  1775,  and  for 
Washington's  army  in  1776,  a  special  enlist- 
ment was  made  against  Burgoyne  in  1777,  and 
for  other  campaigns,  and  it  is  quite  probable 
that  Lieutenant  Grant  joined  a  company  or  reg- 
iment on  this  kind  of  service.*  In  1777,  al- 
most every  able-bodied  man  turned  out  against 
Burgoyne,  until  after  his  surrender,  and  the 
harvest  was  gathered  by  old  men,  boys  and 
women,  f  The  language  of  Daniel  Webster 
referring  to  Massachusetts,  "  The  bones  of  her 
sons,  fallen  in  the  great  struggle  for  independ- 
ence now  lie  mingled  with  the  soil  of  every 
state  from  New  England  to  Georgia," — is  no 
less  applicable  to  her  sister  state  Connecticut. 
Shoulder  to  shoulder  they  entered  into  the  con- 
test for  freedom,  and  in  no  other  state,  was  the 
display  of  patriotism  at  all  comparable  with  that 
in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  and,  indeed 
throughout  the  whole  of  New  England. 

"  New  England's  dead  !  New  England's  dead  ! 
On  every  hill  they  lie  5 

*  The  principal  facts  which  are  given  in  this  sketch  in  reference 
to  the  military  services  of  Captain  Noah  Grant  have  been  furnished 
by  his  son.  The  Hon.  C.  C.  Cox,  late  Commissioner  of 
Pensions,  Washington,  Hon.  J.  H.  Trumbull,  C.  J.  Hoadly,  Esq., 
Hartford,  J.  B.  Porter,  M.  D.  Coventry,  Hon.  Richard  A. 
Wheeler,  Stonington,  Hon.  J.  W.  Swift,  Windham,  Joseph 
Bishop,  Esq.  Tolland,  L.  Hebard,  Esq.  Lebanon,  W-  Fuller,  Esq. 
Brooklyn,  Connecticut,  and  the  widow  of  the  late  Mr.  Weaver, 
of  Windham,  have  also  rendered  valuable  assistance  to  the  author 
in  the  preparation  of  this  sketch. 

f  Notes  from  D:-.  Porter. 


Captain  Noah  Grant,  'The  Second.         51 

On  every  field  of  strife  made  red 

By  bloody  victory. 
Each  valley,  where  the  battle  poured 

Its  red  and  awful  tide, 
Beheld  the  brave  New  England  sword 

With  slaughter  deeply  dyed. 
Their  bones  are  on  the  northern  hill, 

And  on  the  southern  plain, 
By  brook  and  river,  lake  and  rill, 
And  by  the  roaring  main." 

The  proportion  of  soldiers  furnished  for 
the  war  of  the  revolution  by  each  of  the  thirteen 
colonies  is  as  follows: — Massachusetts,  ( in- 
cluding Maine,)  one  in  seven  of  her  population ; 
Connecticut,  one  in  seven ;  New  Hampshire, 
one  in  eleven  ;  Rhode  Island,  one  in  eleven  ; 
New  Jersey,  one  in  sixteen  ;  Pennsylvania,  one 
in  sixteen  ;  New  York,  one  in  nineteen ;  Mary- 
land, one  in  twenty-two ;  Delaware,  one  in 
twenty-four ;  Virginia,  one  in  twenty-eight ; 
Georgia,  one  in  thirty-two ;  South  Carolina, 
one  in  thirty-eight ;  North  Carolina,  one  in 
fifty-four.  Connecticut  had  less  population  at 
the  period  of  the  revolution  than  either  Vir- 
ginia, New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
North  Carolina,  or  South  Carolina,  neverthe- 
less, she  furnished  more  troops  for  the  war 
than  any  one  of  these  great  states.  * 

*  In  a  discussion  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in  1850, 
between  the  Hon.  Mr.  Mason  of  Virginia  and  the  Hon.  Roger  S. 
Baldwin  of  Connecticut,  Mr.  Baldwin  replied  to  some  disparag- 
ing remarks  made  by  Mr.  Mason  : — "  I  can  inform  that  Senator, 


52         Captain  Noah  Grant,  ^he  Second. 

Jesse  R.  Grant,  Esq.  informs  us  that  his 
father  served  during  most  of  the  revolution, 
ending  finally,  as  a  captain.  It  was  towards 
the  close  of  the  war  that  Captain  Grant  married 
Mrs.  Annie  Richardson,  who  was  of  the  Buell 
family,  of  Coventry,  and,  on  his  return,  at  the 
end  of  his  campaignings,  he  found  himself  a  wid- 
ower, his  wife  having  died,  leaving  two  sons, 
Solomon  and  Peter.  The  desire  to  emigrate 
westward  was  now  prevalent  throughout  Con- 
necticut, and  among  the  first  to  brave  the  dan- 
gers of  a  frontier  life  were  found  the  hardy 
soldiers  who  had  fought  in  the  armies  of  the 
revolution.  Like  many  others,  Capt  Noah 

Sir,  that  Connecticut,  small  as  she  is  in  territory,  small  as  she  was 
in  population  when  compared  with  the  State  of  Virginia,  had 
more  troops  in  the  field  during  the  revolutionary  war  than  the 
great  State  of  Virginia." 

This  statement  and  the  above  proportions  are  verified  by  the 
following  table,  derived  from  the  report  of  General  Knox  to  Con- 
gress in  1790,  showing  the  number  of  soldiers  furnished  by  each 
State  in  the  war  of  the  revolution  : 

Soldiers.      Population,  in  1790. 

New  Hampshire i2>497 141,891 

Massachusetts,  including  Maine ....   67,097 475,157 

Rhode  Island 5»9o8 69,110 

Connecticut 3J>959 238,141 

New  York i7>78i 340,120 

New  Jersey 10,726 181,139 

Pennsylvania 25,678 434>373 

Delaware 2,386 59>°98 

Maryland 13,912 319,728 

Virginia 26,678 748,308 

North  Carolina 7,263 393>7S I 

South  Carolina 6,417 249,073 

Georgia 2,509 82,548 


Total 1.31,971 2,820,959 

Hollistefs  History  of  Conn.  Vol.  II.  p.  572. 


Captain  Noah  Grant,   The  Second.        53 

Grant  was  influenced  by  this  desire  for  change, 
and  he  set  out  from  Connecticut,  with  his 
youngest  son  Peter,  about  the  year  1790,  and 
his  first  tarrying  place  was  in  Westmoreland 
County,  Pennsylvania,  near  the  small  village  of 
Greensburg,  on  the  Monongahela  river.  The 
country  was,  here,  almost  a  wilderness  ;  bears, 
panthers,  and  wolves  abounded.  The  dwell- 
ings of  the  settlers  were  chiefly  log-houses  of 
the  most  rude  construction.  The  Indians  still 
hovered  around  the  abodes  of  the  white  man, 
and  they  were,  at  times,  by  no  means  agreeable 
neighbors.  Pittsburgh,  then  a  small  hamlet  of 
about  five  hundred  inhabitants,  was  situated 
twenty  miles  below  Greensburg.  Travelling 
was,  mostly,  accomplished  on  horseback,  along 
devious  and  difficult  paths  through  the  forest, 
although  there  was  a  roughly  laid  out  road, 
and  a  mail  carriage  to  Philadelphia.  Venison 
and  fish  were  plentiful,  and  flax  woven  into 
cloth  by  the  women  furnished  the  simple  dress 
of  the  adventurous  emigrants. 

Captain  Noah  Grant  married  at  Greensburg 
March  4,  1792,  his  second  wife,  Miss  Rachel 
Kelly,  a  lady,  who  was  destined  to  be  the 
grandmother  of  General  Grant.  After  residing 
nine  years  at  Greensburg,  Captain  Grant  set 
out  again  in  the  spring  of  1799,  ^or  t^le  Eldo- 
rado of  the  west,  the  Connecticut  Reserve 


54        Captain  Noah  Grant,  "The  Second. 

The  fame  of  this  new  country,  which  was  to  be 
settled  by  his  old  friends  and  companions  from 
the  east,  had  reached  his  ears,  and  embarking 
on  board  one  of  the  rude  vessels  which  navigat- 
ed the  Monongahela,  with  his  wife  and  five 
children,  a  horse,  two  cows,  and  a  small  supply 
of  household  goods,  he  passed  down  into  the 
beautiful  Ohio  river,  and  landed  in  Colum- 
biana  county,  at  an  insignificant  hamlet  of  a  half- 
dozen  cabins,  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  a  place 
which  has  since  been  dignified  with  the  name 
of  Liverpool. 

The  State  of  Connecticut  had  acquired  in 
1662,  the  title  to  an  extensive  tract  of  land  in 
the  west,  under  a  general  charter  from  Charles 
II.  In  1786,  she  ceded  to  the  United 
States  all  her  right  and  title  in  these  lands,  with 
the  reservation  of  about  three  and  a  half  mil- 
lions of  acres,  constituting,  afterwards,  more 
than  ten  counties,  which  were  styled  the  Con- 
necticut Reserve.  *  The  fire  lands  f  were 
portions  of  the  Reserve  which  were  assigned 
to  citizens  of  Connecticut  who  had  suffered 
from  the  burning  of  their  property  by  the  Brit- 
ish in  the  revolution.  The  sale  of  her  lands 
in  Ohio  laid  the  foundation  of  the  munificent 

*  Ashtabula,  Trumbull,  Lake,  Geauga,  Portage,  Cuyahopa, 
Medina,  Lorain,  Huron,  Erie,  and  the  northern  portion  of  Ma- 
honing  and  Summit  counties. 

f  Erie,  Huron,  and  a  small  part  of  Ottawa  counties. 


Captain  Noah  Grant,   'The  Second.        55 

school  fund  of  Connecticut.  Oliver  Phelps, 
Esq.*  a  native  of  Windsor,  and  a  large  com- 
pany of  gentlemen,  purchased,  in  the  year  1795, 
for  the  sum  of  one  million  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  the  lands  remaining  unsold  in  the 
Reserve. 

The  following  description  is  as  applicable 
to  this  country,  at  the  period  of  which  we  write, 
as  it  was  before  the  revolution  : — "  The  west- 
ern and  north  western  territory  of  the  United 
States  was  an  almost  pathless  wilderness  at  the 
commencement  of  the  revolution.  A  few  hardy 
adventurers  had  explored  its  forests ;  they 
were  followed  by  a  few  woodsmen,  who  shoul- 
dered their  rifles  and  plunged  into  the  wilder- 
ness, and  then  came  a  wagon  or  two,  slowly 
breaking  its  rough  way,  bearing  families  whom 
the  hardships  of  frontier  life  had  emboldened 
to  seek  a  new  home.  These  enterprising  pio- 
neers, whose  adventures  shed  a  coloring  of  ro- 


*  This  distinguished  gentleman  was  also  engaged  in  efforts 
on  a  gigantic  scale  for  the  settlement  of  Western  New  York. 
The  Phelps  and  Gorham  purchase  embraced  over  six  millions  of 
acres  comprising  now,  seven  counties  in  the  Genesee  country. 
"Oliver  Phelps  maybe  considered  the  Cecrops  of  the  Genesee 
country."  Hist.  Coll.  New  York,  p.  407. 

— There  were  seven  directors  of  the  company  :  Oliver  Phelps, 
Suffield  ;  Henry  Champion,  ad,  Colchester  ;  Moses  Cleveland, 
Canterbury  ;  Samuel  W.  Johnson  ;  Ephraim  Kirby  ;  Samuel 
Mather,  Junr.,  Lynn  ;  Roger  Newbcrry,  West  Windsor.  The 
annual  meeting  of  the  company  was  held  at  Hartford,  Connec- 
ticut. They  called  their  lands  in  Ohio  "  New  Connecticut." 
Whittle  sey1  s  Early  History  of  Cleveland,  p.  168. 


56        Captain  Noah  Grant,  The  Second. 

mance  over  the  early  history  of  the  whole  re- 
gion, braved  perils  we  nowadays  shudder  even 
to  hear  of;  for  they  were  forced  to  dispute  the 
grounds  they  occupied  with  fierce  tribes  of 
Indians.  The  Shawanees,  Delawares,  and 
Wyandots  of  the  North,  and  the  Cherokees, 
Creeks,  and  Catawbas  of  the  South,  who  often 
waged  bloody  wars  against  each  other,  were 
alike  disposed  to  meet  with  ferocious  hostility 
the  white  men  who  dared  invade  the  country 
they  claimed."* 

It  was  to  this  country  that  adventurous 
New  England  men  were  now  hastening.  In 
1797,  only  two  years  before  the  arrival  of 
Captain  Grant  in  Columbiana  county,  a  few 
families,  who  were  the  first  pioneers,  had 
crossed  the  Ohio,  and  settled  within  its  limits. 
One  of  these  was  named  Carpenter,  and  short- 
ly before  Captain  Grant  had  come  among  them, 
a  noted  Indian  chief,  White  Eyes,  had  stopped 
at  the  dwelling  of  Carpenter,  and  being  intox- 
icated, had  threatened  to  kill  his  son.  To 
prevent  this  Carpenter  was  compelled  to  take 
his  life.  This  event  created  great  excitement, 
and  fears  were  entertained  that  the  Indians 
would  visit  summary  vengeance  upon  them. 
The  storm  passed  over,  however,  and  peace 
and  quiet  were  soon  restored. 

*  Mrs.Ellefs  Doni.  Hist.  Amer.  Rev.  p.  r.gi. 


Captain  Ncah  Grant,  The  Second.          57 

But  Captain  Grant  had  not  yet  reached  the 
Reserve.  The  tide  of  emigration  set  in  more 
strongly  toward  this  country  after  the  right 
of  jurisdiction  over  it  was  ceded,  in  i8co,  to 
the  general  government.  It  was  about  this 
time  that  Captain  Grant  removed  to  the  Re- 
serve, taking  up  his  residence  in  Portage 
county  near  a  rude  settlement  called  Deerfield, 
which  is  now  a  pleasant  village.  The  man- 
agement of  these  fine  lands  in  Ohio,  and  the 
introduction  of  them  to  public  notice,  in  order 
to  invite  settlers,  was  almost  entirely  under 
the  control  of  men  from  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts.  General  Rufus  Putnam,  of 
Massachusetts,  was  the  first  surveyor-general. 
General  Moses  Cleveland,  of  Canterbury,  Con- 
necticut, from  whom  the  city  of  Cleveland  was 
named,  was  also  the  land  company's  agent.*  It 

*  General  Samuel  H.  Parsons,  of  Middlctown,  Connecticut, 
purchased  a  tract  of  twenty-four  thousand  acres  in  Trumbull 
county  in  1788. 

Whittleseys  Early  Hist,  of  Cleveland,  p.  159. 

— General  Parsons  was  chief-justice  of  the  North  Western 
Territory  from  178510  1787.  He  was  descended  from  Benja- 
min Parsons  the  pioneer  at  Springfield,  Massachusetts.  Benja- 
min Parsons,  Thomas  Parsons,  of  Windsor,  Connecticut,  who 
had  a  lot  in  the  palisado,  John  Parsons,  of  York,  Maine,  Joseph 
Parsons,  of  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  and  Samuel  Parsons, 
of  East  Hampton,  Long  Island,  were,  probably,  brothers,  and 
came  into  this  country,  about  1630,  with  their  father,  who  is 
supposed  to  have  died  soon  after  his  arrival,  leaving  a  widow,  who 
died  in  Windsor,  and  several  young  children.  John  E.  Parsons, 
Esq.,  a  lawyer  of  New  York  city,  is  a  descendant  from  John 
Parsons,  of  York,  Maine. 

Notes  from  Samuel  H.  Parsons,  Esq.,  a  grandson  of  General 
Parsons. 

3* 


58         Captain  Noah  Grant,  T'he  Second. 

is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  Reserve 
was  settled,  in  great  measure,  by  the  sons  of 
Connecticut  and  Massachusetts.  Indeed,  it  was 
almost  as  though  these  two  States  had  been 
transplanted  entire  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 
The  same  pronunciations,  the  same  social 
customs,  ideas,  political  faith,  and  other  dis- 
tinctive features  that  characterize  a  people,  may 
be  found  in  these  eleven  counties,  which  are 
peculiar  to  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts. 
We  can  well  understand,  therefore,  that  Cap- 
tain Grant  felt  quite  at  home,  again,  among  the 
people  with  whom  his  boyhood  and  many  of 
the  years  of  his  manhood  had  been  passed  in 
New  England. 

The  first  settler  in  Portage  county  was  the 
Hon.  Benjamin  Tappan,  who  drove  a  yoke  of 
oxen,  with  a  load  of  farming  utensils  and 
household  goods,  from  Connecticut,  in  1799, 
and  halted  at  a  place  in  the  wilderness,  which 
he  called  Ravenna.  At  about  the  same  time, 
Lewis  Day  came  into  Portage  county,  from 
Granby,  Connecticut,  and  named  the  place 
where  he  stopped  Deerfield,*  in  honor  of  the 
town  in  which  his  mother  resided  in  Massa- 
chusetts. Moses  Tibbals  and  Green  Frost 
from  Granville,  Massachusetts,  accompanied 
Mr.  Day  and,  in  one  year  afterwards,  Captain 
Grant  joined  the  adventurous  party. 

*  Hist.  Coll.  Ohio. 


Captain  Noah  Grant,  The  Second.         59 

The  Indians  were  quite  numerous,  and  as 
late  as  the  war  of  1812,  assumed  a  very  menac- 
ing attitude.  In  1806,  there  was  an  encamp- 
ment of  seven  Mohawks  in  Deerfield,  with 
whom  a  serious  difficulty  occurred,  ending  in 
the  wounding  of  one  Daniel  Diver.  A  barbar- 
ous murder  of  Michael  Gibbs,  and  another 
settler  named  Buell,  was  committed  in  the 
fire  lands  in  1812,  by  the  Indians. 

"  The  early  settlers,  generally,  erected  the 
ordinary  log  cabin,  but  others,  of  a  wandering 
character,  built  bark  huts.  For  two  or  three 
years  previous  to  the  late  war  [of  1812],  the 
inhabitants  were  so  isolated  from  other  set- 
tlements, that  no  supplies  could  be  had,  and 
there  was  much  suffering  for  want  of  food  and 
clothing ;  at  times,  whole  families  subsisted 
for  weeks  together,  on  nothing  but  pounded 
corn,  with  a  very  scanty  supply  of  meat." 

"  For  several  years  after  the  war,  raccoon 
caps,  with  the  fur  outside,  and  deerskin  jack- 
ets and  pantaloons  were  almost  universally 
worn."* 

Wild  beasts  were  frequently  encountered 
in  the  forests.  Bears,  panthers,  and  wolves 
prowled  around  by  day  and  night,  and  the 
latter  were  most  annoying  and  destructive.  The 
settlers  were  obliged  to  build  their  pens  for 

*  Hist.  Coll.  Ohio.  p.  151. 


60         Captain  Noah  Granf,  'The  Second. 

domestic  animals  so  high  that  the  wolves 
could  not  jump  or  climb  them.  In  Knox 
county,  which  lies  about  sixty  miles  south-west 
of  the  Reserve  and  but  a  short  distance  above 
Columbus,  forty  wolves  were  caught  in  the 
winter  of  1805  in  steel  traps  and  pens.  The 
Hon.  Samuel  Huntington*  who  was  the  gov- 
ernor of  Ohio  in  1808,  resided,  first,  at  Cleve- 
land, and,  afterwards,  at  Painesville,  both  of 
which  towns  are  in  the  Reserve.  He  had  been 
absent  to  the  eastward  of  Cleveland  on  a  jour- 
ney, and  when  returning,-  toward  evening,  was 
attacked,  furiously,  by  a  pack  of  wolves.  Their 
ferocity  was  so  great  that  he  broke  his  um- 
brella in  pieces  in  keeping  them  off,  and  hav- 
ing, fortunately,  a  very  fleet  horse,  to  this  cir- 
cumstance he  owed  the  preservation  of  his  life. 

To  compensate,  however,  for  this  annoy- 
ance from  wild  beasts,  game  and  fish  were 
plentiful,  and  fish  formed  no  small  part  of  their 
food,  especially  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  The 
rivers  were  filled  with  delicious  pike,  white 
perch,  salmon,  spotted  perch,  black  cat,  yellow 
cat  and  sturgeon,  and  in  the  forests  a  few  buf- 
falo and  an  abundance  of  wild  turkeys  and  deer 
were  found. 

General  St.  Clair  was  the  first  governor  of 

*  He  was  a  nephew  and  the  heir  of  Governor  Samuel  Hun- 
tington, of  Norwich,  Connecticut. 


Captain  Noah  Granf,  'The  Second.        61 

the  North  Western  Territory,  from  its  organ- 
ization in  1785  to  the  year  1803. 

Captain  Grant  had  resided  but  about  fivt 


years  at  Deerfield  when  the  chief  stay  of  his 
household,  the  wife  he  had  found  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, sickened  and  died.  This  was  a  severe 
blow  to  him.  They  had  been  married  thirteen 
years,  and  she  had  borne  him  seven  children, 
who,  with  the  one  brought  from  his  home  in 
Connecticut,  made  a  family  of  eight.  The 
old  soldier  had  not  been  thrifty.  He  loved 
too  well  "  to  fight  his  battles  o'er  again,"  to 
talk  of  the  thrilling  scenes  he  had  witnessed, 
for  he  had  received  an  excellent  education  in 
the  land  of  his  youth,  but  he  had  managed  to 
secure  only  a  very  small  store  of  the  good 
things  of  this  world.  He  had  inherited  from 
his  uncle,  Lieutenant  Solomon  Grant,  a  life 
interest  in  the  Coventry  estate,*  but  this  had 
passed  out  of  his  hands  before  he  was  thirty 
years  of  age,  and  he  had,  now,  only  very  slen- 
der resources  to  relieve  the  necessities  of  in- 
creasing age.  His  family  was,  therefore,  bro- 
ken up  and  scattered,  on  the  death  of  his  wife. 
Jesse,  as  we  shall  see  in  a  subsequent  chapter, 
soon  learned  to  provide  for  himself. 

*  The  Grant  place  in  Coventry  was  entailed  to  the  family  of 


62        Captain  Noah  Granf,  The  Second. 

The  declining  years  of  Captain  Grant's 
life  were  passed,  quietly,  in  the  family  of  his 
son  Peter,  who  had  removed  to  Maysville,  in 
the  State  of  Kentucky.  Here,  at  the  goodly 
age  of  nearly  seventy  -two  years,  Captain  Noah 
Grant,  of  the  war  of  the  revolution,  departed 
this  life  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  February, 
1820..  As  Matthew  Grant  was  a  founder  of 
the  towns  of  Dorchester  and  Windsor,  and  of 
the  colony  of  Connecticut,  as  his  grandfather, 
the  first  Noah  Grant,  was  a  founder  of  Tolland, 
so  he,  also,  was  a  founder  of  the  great  State 
of  Ohio,  which  has  at  the  present  day  two 
and  a  half  millions  of  inhabitants,  and  ranks 
the  third  in  population  of  all  the  federal  states. 

From  such  a  brave  and  hardy  line  of  an- 
cestors is  sprung,  in  a  later  generation,  the 
General  of  the  Armies  of  the  Union.  It  is  a 
race  which  has  known  no  rest.  Their  energies 
have  not  been  dwarfed  and  enfeebled  in  the 
lap  of  luxury.  If  there  is  anything  in  blood, 
we  have  it,  here,  exemplified.  For  eight  gen- 
erations, this  family  has  gone  out  to  possess  the 
land,  to  subdue  and  control  it,  and,  at  last,  when 
torn  asunder  with  civil  discord,  they  have  risen 
in  their  strength  and  given  it  newness  of  life. 

Noah  Grant  II.,  was  sold  by  Noah  Grant  III.,  and,  after  the 
abolition  of  entailments  at  the  end  of  the  revolution,  Jesse  R. 
Grant  visited  Connecticut,  about  the  year  1833,  and  sold  out  the 
interest  of  the  family  for  three  thousand  dollars,  which  was,  at 
least,  one-third  of  its  true  value.  (In  part,  Notes  of  Dr.  Porter.] 


CHAPTER     IV. 

JESSE    ROOT     GRANT  -  GENERAL    ULYSSES     SIMP- 
SON   GRANT. 

JESSE  ROOT  GRANT  was  born  near  Greens- 


burg,  which  is  situated  in  Westmoreland 
County,  Pennsylvania,  twenty  miles  above 
Pittsburgh  on  the  Monongahela  River,  on  the 
the  23d  of  January,  1794.  He  was  the  first 
son  by  his  father's  second  wife  Rachel  Kelly, 
and  Captain  Noah  named  him,  in  memory  of 
the  land  of  his  nativity,  from  the  Hon.  Jesse 
Root*  who  was  the  most  eminent  counsellor  of 

*  Jesse  Root,  LL.D.,  was  born  in  Coventry,  Connecticut, 
Dec.  28,  1736.  He  received  a  collegiate  education  at  Nassau 
Hall,  New  Jersey.  Governor  Trumbull  gave  him  a  captain's 
commission,  in  the  first  year  of  the  revolutionary  war,  Dec.  30, 
1776,  and  he  joined  Washington's  army,  with  a  company  which 
was  raised,  principally,  at  Hartford.  He  was  promoted  to  the 
staff  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel.  In  May,  1779,  he  was 
chosen  a  delegate  to  the  old  congress  of  the  confederation,  and 
in  that  station  he  continued  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was 
licensed  as  an  attorney  at  Windham,  in  February,  1763,  and  he 
had  few  equals,  as  a  lawyer,  and  no  superiors  in  the  State.  He 
was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Connecticut  in 
1789,  and  in  1798  Chief  Justice,  which  office  he  held  until  1807, 
when  he  resigned.  He  was  a  delegate  from  Hartford  to  the 
Connecticut  convention  to  ratify  the  United  States  constitution, 
in  1788,  and  in  1818  a  member  from  Coventry  of  the  con- 
vention to  form  the  constitution  of  Connecticut.  Judge  Root 
died  in  Coventry,  March  29,  1822,  aged  85  years.  From  MS. 
notes  by  Re-v.  Marvin  Root,  his  grand-nephe--w*  Contributed  by 
Dr.  Porter,  of  Coventry. 


64  Jesse  Root  Grant. 

that  day,  and  was,  for  many  years,  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  Superior  Court  of  Connecticut. 
When  young  Jesse  was  but  eleven  years  of  age 
his  mother  died,  and  her  decease  was  the  cause 
of  the  immediate  breaking  up  of  the  family 
circle.  The  old  soldier  of  the  revolution  had  not 
provided  his  son  with  riches,  but  he  had  given 
him  something  better — character,  and  we  shall 
find  that  sterling  integrity,  industry,  frugality, 
and  a  manly  independence  were  always  his  hab- 
its of  life  and  motives  of  action.  A  part 
of  his  youth  was  passed  in  the  family  of 
Judge  Tod,  of  Youngstown,  Ohio,  and  in 
1812,  he  went  to  reside,  with  the  intention  of 
learning  the  business,  with  his  half-brother 
Peter  Grant,  who  had  a  tannery  afc  Maysville, 
Kentucky.  Three  years  later,  at  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  he  was  prepared  to  set  up  for 
himself  in  charge  of  a  tan  -yard  at  Deerfield, 
Portage  county,  and  at  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
he  took  a  tannery  at  Ravenna,  the  county-seat 
of  the  same  county. 

Faithful  industry  had,  thus  far,  brought  its 
own  reward,  but  now  there  came  a  season  of 
ill-health  and  disaster.  He  had  contracted  the 
fever  and  ague,  a  disease  which  was  prevalent 
at  Ravenna,  but  after  a  short  period  of  sick- 
ness and  reverses,  he  settled  again  in  a  pros- 
perous business  in  a  more  distant  locality  in 


Jesse  Root  Grant.  65 

the  same  State,  at  Point  Pleasant,  Clermont 
county,  twenty-five  miles  above  Cincinnati,  on 
the  Ohio  River,  and  more  than  two  hundred 
miles  south-west  from  his  late  residence.  A 
favorable  opportunity  had  Differed  itself  for  es- 
tablishing, at  this  place,  a  tannery,  and,  after 
getting  his  business  into  successful  operation, 
here  it  was  that  he  chose  as  his  wife  a  young 
lady  by  name  Miss  Hannah  Simpson.  He 
was  married  on  the  24th  of  June,  1821.  "Miss 
Simpson  was  the  second  daughter  and  third 
child  of  John  Simpson,  and  was  born  and 
brought  up  in  Montgomery  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, twenty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  Mr. 
Simpson  was  a  highly  respectable  farmer  of 
American  ancestry  for  several  generations. 
None  of  the  family  connections  were  ever  as- 
pirants for  fame  or  political  notoriety,  but  were 
more  solicitous  as  to  their  standing  in  regard 
to  integrity,  veracity  and  independence.  The 
family  had  removed  to  Ohio  a  few  years  previ- 
ously, and  settled  in  Clermont  county."*  The 
husband  has,  himself,  portrayed  the  character 
of  the  lady  who  thus  became  his  life-long  com- 
panion and  the  mother  of  his  children,  in  the 
following  highly  interesting  language: — "At 
the  time  of  our  marriage  Mrs.  Grant  was  an 
unpretending  country  girl  ;  handsome,  but  not 

*  Extract  from  a  private  letter  from  Jesse  R.  Grant,  Esq. 


66  Jesse  Root  Grant. 

vain.  She  had  previously  joined  the  Metho- 
dist Church  ;  and  I  can  truthfully  say  that  it 
has  never  had  a  more  devoted  and  consistent 
member.  Her  steadiness,  firmness  and  strength 
of  character  have  been  the  stay  of  the  family 
through  life.  She  was  always  careful,  and 
most  watchful  over  her  children  ;  but  never 
austere,  and  not  opposed  to  their  free  partici- 
pation in  innocent  amusements."* 

The  village  of  Point  Pleasant  is,  as  its  name 
signifies,  pleasantly  situated  on  the  northern 
bank  of  the  Ohio,  and,  although  it  was,  at  that 
early  period,  a  hamlet  of  quite  modest  propor- 
tions, yet  we  can  easily  imagine  that  the  rich 
profusion  of  delights  spread  out  by  bounteous 
nature  on  every  side, — a  variegated  landscape, 
a  fertile  soil,  and  a  salubrious  climate  rendered 
it  a  far  more  desirable  residence  than  many 
others  which  abound  more  with  the  adorn- 
ments of  art.  This  was  not  what  the  world 
would  call  a  proud  birthplace  for  one  who  was 
soon  to  sway  the  destinies  of  half  a  continent, 
but,  in  truth,  surroundings  like  these,  the 
beautiful  river  Ohio,  the  silent  forest,  the 
grassy  meadow  or  waving  wheat-field  furnished 
a  scene  which  the  poet  or  the  novelist  would 
have  been  delighted  to  select  as  the  birthplace 
of  his  hero.  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant  was  born 

*  From  a  letter  of  Mr.  Grant  to  The  New  York  Ledger. 


Jesse  Root  Grant.  67 

in  this  pleasant  rural  hamlet,  and  the  dwelling 
is  still  standing  in  which  he  first  saw  the  light, 
— a  small  one-story  framed  cottage  situated 
near  the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio. 

The  county-seat  of  Brown  county,  George- 
town, soon,  however,  attracted  the  attention  of 
Mr.  Jesse  R.  Grant  as  a  place  offering  strong 
inducements  for  business,  and,  in  May,  1823, 
a  removal  of  his  family  to  this  village  was  made. 
Here  he  started  again  with  a  small  tannery, 
and  in  the  fall  built  a  modest  two-story  brick 
house,  which  was  paid  for  that  summer  from 
the  profits  of  his  business.  "  I  continued  on 
in  this  way,"  he  writes,  "  improving  a  little 
every  year.  Two  years  after  I  built  my  house, 
I  added  a  kitchen  in  the  rear,  and  a  few  years 
later,  when  the  increase  of  my  family  required 
and  my  means  justified  it,  I  built  a  large  house 
in  front.  My  object  was  not  to  get  rich,  but 
to  make  my  family  comfortable  and  contented, 
and  to  train  up  my  children  for  usefulness. 
Early  in  the  year  1839,  when  my  oldest  son 
was  nearly  seventeen  years  of  age,  he  told  me 
he  could  never  follow  the  tanning  business  ;  that 
he  did  not  like  it.  I  told  him  that  whatever 
he  expected  to  follow  through  life  he  should 
engage  in  now,  and  not  waste  his  early  life  in 
learning  a  business  he  did  not  intend  to  follow. 
Among  other  preparations  for  life  he  desired 


68  Jesse  Root  Grant. 

an  education.  Although  my  business  had 
been  good  and  reasonably  successful,  yet  I  did 
not  feel  able  to  support  him  at  college.  So  I 
suggested  West  Point ;  that  met  his  approba- 
tion, and  I  made  application,  and  by  the  veriest 
accident  in  the  world  I  obtained  the  appoint- 
ment for  him."* 

Mr.  Jesse  R.  Grant  found  it  advantageous 

*/  o 

to  make  another  business  change  about  the 
year  1841,  the  support  of  a  large  family  de- 
manding it,  and  having  sold  out  at  Georgetown 
he  formed  a  partnership  in  the  leather  business 
at  Galena,  Illinois,  with  Mr.  E.  A.  Collins,  of 
Clermont  county.  "  I  made  an  agreement 
with  him,  by  which  he  took  his  stock  and  mine 
and  went  to  Galena,  and  started  a  leather  store, 
and  I  took  his  tannery  and  carried  it  on.  I 
enlarged  the  tannery  and  pushed  business  to 
the  greatest  possible  extent.  The  result  was 
that  we  were  successful.""}-  After  several  years 
of  this  partnership  Mr.  Grant  was  able  on  the 
first  of  January,  1854,  to  retire  from  business 
with  a  competency,  and  having  sold  his  interest 
in  the  Galena  store  to  Mr.  Collins,  his  youngest 
son  Orville  being  now  in  business  in  Chicago, 
he  resides,  free  from  the  cares  of  life,  at  a  quiet 
retreat  which  he  had  previously  selected  at 

*  From  a  letter  of  Mr.  Grant  to  the  Shoe  and  Leather  Reporter, 
New  York. 

t  Shoe  and  Leather  Reporter. 


Jesse  Root  Grant.  69 

Covington,  Kentucky,  a  pleasant  suburb  of  the 
city  of  Cincinnati. 

The  secret  of  Mr.  Grant's  success  may  be 
summed  up  in  his  own  words  : — "  Preferring 
to  do  a  sure  business  to  a  large  one,  I  worked 
on  such  means  as  I  had,  and  never  involved 
myself  in  debt.  Soon  after  I  commenced  bus- 
iness at  Point  Pleasant,  General  Lytle,  of 
Cincinnati,  offered  me  an  empty  tannery  he 
had  in  that  city,  and  agreed  to  furnish  all  the 
means  necessary  to  carry  it  on,  but  I  was 
afraid  to  take  the  responsibility,  and  adhered 
to  my  first  policy  of  a  sure  thing  rather  than 
a  large  one.  The  man  who  did  take  the  place 
retired  ten  years  ago  on  a  fortune  of  a  million 
of  dollars.  I  kept  on  in  a  moderate  way, 
supporting  my  family  well,  teaching  them  the 
practical  lessons  of  life,  and  fitting  them  for 
future  usefulness.  If  I  had  taken  the  Gene- 
ral's tannery,  I  should,  no  doubt,  have  come 
into  possession  of  a  sudden,  overgrov/n  for- 
tune, and  spoiled  my  children.  As  it  was, 
when  I  was  old  enough  to  retire,  my  boys  were 
fully  qualified  to  take  my  place,  and  I  have  the 
consolation  of  knowing  that  I  have  educated 
my  children  all  well,  and  have  made  them  all 
moderately  wealthy,  besides  knowing  that  they 
are  all  doing  well  for  themselves"*  Having 

*  Shoe  and  Leather  Reporter. 


jo  Jesse  Root  Grant. 

reached  the  goodly  age  of  seventy-five,  and 
with  the  wife  of  his  youth,  who  has  been  his 
companion  for  forty-eight  years,  still  living, 
Mr.  Grant  enjoys  in  his  retirement  the  just 
rewards  of  a  life  of  integrity  and  faithful  in- 
dustry. 

We  have  omitted  mentioning  in  its  proper 
connection  the  fact  that  Mr.  Jesse  R.  Grant 
has  displayed,  frequently,  a  happy  talent  in 
framing  verses,  which  might  have  given  him  a 
lasting  reputation  if  he  had  enjoyed  better  ad- 
vantages of  education  in  his  youth.  We  shall 
see,  in  another  part  of  this  work,  that  there  was, 
in  very  ancient  time,  a  distinguished  "  Bard  " 
in  the  clan  of  Grants  in  the  Highlands,  and  oc- 
casional displays  of  poetic  genius  among  the 
various  members  of  the  Grant  family  are  to  be 
expected.  We  will  permit  Mr.  Grant  to  de- 
scribe, himself,  the  circumstances  under  which 
these  specimens  of  his  poetry  were  written.  He 
says : 

"  There  was  an  old  Englishman  in  the 
neighborhood  [of  Georgetown]  by  the  name  of 
Boler ;  he  styled  himself  a  poet,  was  occupied 
as  a  school  teacher,  and  was  very  poor.  He 
always  signed  his  published  productions  ( Back 
Woodsman.'  About  forty  years  ago  he  wrote 
me  for  leather  for  a  pair  of  shoes.  His  letter 
was  in  rhyme,  and  was  published  in  our  village 
paper  called  the  f  Castigator*  It  commenced  : 


Jesse  Root  Grant.  71 

"  JESSE  R.  GRANT — Beloved  friend, 
I  cannot  go,  and  therefore  send 
This  little  letter,  and  less  news, 
To  let  you  know  I'm  out  of  shoes." 

"  I  did  not  keep  a  copy,  and  have  forgot- 
ten the  rest  of  the  poetry  ;  but  the  author  went 
on  to  say  he  wanted  strong  cow-hide,  broad 
straps,  bottoms  six  inches  wide,  and  not  such 
as  were  worn  by  the  dandies ;  that  cash  was 
scarce  with  him,  but  he  would  pay  in  hides  or 
grain.  I  knew  that  he  had  neither.  I  said  : 

"  BACKWOODSMAN — Sir,  my  aged  friend, 
These  lines  in  answer  back  I  send, 
To  thank  you  for  your  rhyming  letter, 
Published  in  the  '  CastigalorS' 
The  story  of  your  worn  out  shoes 
Is,  to  a  tanner,  no  strange  news ; 
We  often  hear  that  story  told 
By  those  whose  feet  are  pinched  with  cold, 
Then  they  apply  to  get  some  leather, 
To  guard  against  the  frosty  weather  ; 
That  cash  is  scarce  they  oft  complain, 
And  wish  to  meet  their  bills  in  grain  ; 
Others,  who  wish  to  be  supplied, 
Will  promise  soon  to  bring  a  hide. 
Such  pay  by  us  is  greatly  prized, 
But  is  not  always  realized. 
Now,  one  thing  here  I  must  relate, 
As  written  in  the  Book  of  Fate  ; 
As  you've  grown  old,  so  you've  grown  poor, 
As  poets  all  have  done  before ; 
And  yet  no  one  of  common  sense 
Will  charge  that  fault  to  your  expense, 
Nor  otherwise  dispose  the  weight 
Than  charge  it  to  a  poet's  fate. 


72  Jesse  Root  Grant. 

Dame  Fate  with  me,  though,  need  not  flirt, 
For  I'm  not  poet  enough  to  hurt. 
The  world,  'tis  said,  owes  all  a  living  ; 
What  can't  be  bought,  then,  must  be  given, 
And,  though  I  have  not  much  to  spare, 
I  can  at  least  give  you  a  pair — 
Or  leather  for  a  pair — of  shoes, 
That  you  may  sally  forth  for  news, 
And  when  another  pair  you  want, 
Just  send  a  note  to — ].  R.  GRANT." 

"  The  backwoodsman  called  and  got  his 
leather,  but  I  never  saw  the  hides  or  grain." 

In  reference  to  the  dissolution  of  partnership 
with  Mr.  Collins,  at  Galena,  he  writes  : 

"  On  the  final  winding  up  our  business,  we 
invoiced  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  I  took 
the  Ohio  tannery,  and  Mr.  Collins  had  the  Gale- 
na store.  A  part  of  our  advertisement  of  disso- 
lution was  as  follows: 

"  In  eighteen  hundred  forty-one, 
Our  partnership  was  first  begun  ; 
We  two  then  became  as  one, 

To  deal  in  leather; 
Some  little  business  we  have  done 

While  together. 

For  a  dozen  years  we've  toiled  together, 
In  making  and  in  vending  leather, 
Suited  to  every  stage  of  weather, 

Ere  dry  or  rain  ; 
But  now  the  time  has  come  to  sever — 

And  we  are  twain. 

E.  A.  Collins  is  still  on  hand, 

And  occupies  his  former  stand, 

In  which  he  always  held  command, 


General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant.          73 

To  buy  and  sell ; 

As  matters  now  are  being  planned, 
May  he  do  well. 

J.  R.  Grant,  the  old  "off  wheel," 
As  firm  and  true  as  smitten  steel, 
Does  yet  a  strong  desire  feel 

To  do  some  more. 
Expect,  then,  within  the  field, 

A  bran  new  store. 

Our  hearty  thanks  we  humbly  send, 
To  every  customer  and  friend, 
Who  has  stood  by  us  to  the  end 

With  free  good-will ; 
And  say,  in  future,  we  intend 

To  serve  you  still. 

Now  one  thing  more  we  have  to  say — 
To  those  who  owe,  we  want  our  pay  ; 
Then  send  it  on  without  delay — 

The  full  amount — 
For  still  we  have  some  debts  to  pay  ; 

On  firm  account.  * 

Yours,  &c.,  J.  R.  GRANT." 

GENERAL  ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT  was  born 
on  the  2yth  of  April,  1822.  Considerable  dis- 
cussion seems  to  have  arisen  among  the  various 
members  of  the  family  in  deciding  upon  the 
name  of  the  youthful  warrior,  and  it  is  quite 
certain  that  the  fates  were  unpropitious  on  this 
question,  and  determined  to  defeat  the  best-laid 
schemes  of  family  or  kindred,  for  whatever  may 
have  been  the  difficulty  experienced  in  giving 
the  child  a  name,  still  greater  was  the  difficulty 

*  SJtw  and  Leather  Reporter,  N.  Y.,  Sept.,  1868. 
4 


7|          General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant. 

of  keeping  that  name.  Mr.  Grant,  the  father, 
remarks  in  reference  to  the  initials  U.  S., — "  A 
superstitious  person  might  almost  think  there 
was  something  Providential  about  these  signifi- 
cant initials  being  stuck  on  to  him,  for  they  were 
not  given  to  him  at  his  christening.  When  the 
question  arose,  after  his  birth,  what  he  should  be 
called,  his  mother  and  one  of  his  aunts  proposed 
Albert,  for  Albert  Gallatin;  another  aunt  pro- 
posed Theodore;  his  grandfather  proposed  Hi- 
ram, because  he  thought  that  was  a  handsome 
name.  His  grandmother — grandmother  by 
courtesy,  that  is,  his  mother's  step-mother — was 
a  great  student  of  history,  and  had  an  enthusias- 
tic admiration  for  the  ancient  commander, 
Ulysses ;  *  and  she  urged  that  the  babe 
should  be  named  Ulysses.  I  seconded  that,  and 
he  was  christened  Hiram  Ulysses;  but  he  was 
always  called  by  the  latter  name,  which  he  him- 
self preferred,  when  he  got  old  enough  to  know 
about  it.  But  Mr.  Hamer  [the  representative  in 
Congress]  knowing  Mrs.  Grant's  name  was 
Simpson,  and  that  we  had  a  son  named  Simpson, 
somehow  got  the  matter  a  little  mixed  in  mak- 
ing the  nomination,  and  sent  the  name  in  Ulys- 
ses S.  Grant  instead  of  Hiram  Ulysses  Grant."  f 

*  Jesse  and  Mrs.  Simpson  had  just  read  Telemachus,  and 
both  were  impressed  with  the  hero's  father,  the  "wise  Ulysses." — 
Richardson's  Pers.  Hist. 

f  The  Neiu  York  Ledger. 


General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant.          75 

General  Badeau  says,  also,  "Young  Grant  applied 
to  the  authorities  at  West  Point,  and  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  to  have  the  blunder  corrected, 
but  the  request  was  unnoticed ;  his  comrades  at 
once  adopted  the  initials  U.  S.  in  his  behalf,  and 
christened  him  Uncle  Sam,  a  nickname  that  he 
never  lost  in  the  army ;  and  when  he  graduated, 
in  1843,  twenty-first  in  a  class  of  thirty-nine,  his 
commission  of  brevet  second  lieutenant  and  his 
diploma,  both  styled  him  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  by 
which  name  he  has  since  been  known."  * 

The  fact  has  been,  already,  noticed  that  the 
General's  ancestors  bore,  through  six  generations, 
scriptural  names,  one  of  them  being  called  Mat- 
thew, two  of  them  Samuel,  and  three  Noah,  and 
it  was  certainly  a  wide  departure  from  the  custom 
of  his  Puritan  forefathers  to  have  selected  a 
name  which  has  been  made  celebrated  by  the 
poems  of  Homer,  however  distinguished  that 
bard  may  have  been,  in  ancient  times,  among 
the  heathen.  But  it  is  probable  that  fate  over- 
ruled this  question  of  the  name  for  a  weighty 
reason,  which,  happily  for  us,  has  been  sagely 
divined  by  a  modern  writer.  It  is  revealed  in  the 
narrative  of  Fenelon,  who  causes  his  hero,  Tele- 
machus,  to  be  thus  addressed, — "Your  father, 
Ulysses,  is  the  wisest  of  mankind ;  his  heart  is 
an  unfathomable  depth;  his  secret  lies  beyond 

*  Military  History  of  U,  S.  Grant,  p.  8, 


j6          General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant. 

the  line  of  subtlety  and  fraud;  he  is  the  friend 
of  truth ;  he  says  nothing  that  is  false,  but  when 
it  is  necessary  he  conceals  what  is  true;  his  wis- 
dom isy  as  it  were,  a  seal  upon  his  lips,  which  is 
never  broken  but  for  an  important  purpose"  * 

Lieutenant  Grant  served  with  distinction  in 
the  Mexican  war,  and,  having  been  promoted  to 
a  captaincy,  resigned,  and  retired  to  private  life. 
He  entered  with  zeal  into  the  contest  for  the 
Union,  and  writh  what  success  is  known  to  the 
world.  The  story  of  his  exploits  has  been  well 
narrated  by  his  many  biographers.  A  few  anec- 
dotes from  Brigadier-General  Hillyer's  reminis- 
cences of  General  Grant  may  be  found  interest- 
ing. Hillyer  had  been  a  staff  officer  with  the 
General,  and  had  resigned  after  the  fall  of  Vicks- 
burg.  Rejoining  Grant  again  for  a  visit  after  he 
came  East,  Hillyer  accompanied  him  to  Culpep- 
per,  where  the  General  assumed  the  command 
of  all  the  armies. 

"Hillyer,"  said  Grant,  "I  think  I  should 
have  failed  in  this  position  if  I  had  come  to  it 
in  the  beginning,  because  I  should  not  have  had 
confidence  enough.  You  see  I  have  come 
through  all  the  grades  of  the  service — captain, 
colonel,  brigade,  division,  corps,  army — and  I 
am  confident  in  myself  now.  McClellan's  mis- 
fortune, I  always  believed,  was  in  his  clearing  all 

*  Richardson's  Pen.  Hist. 


General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant.  77 

the  grades  at  once,  and  feeling  a  want  of  confi- 
dence in  this  great  and  absolute  responsibility." 

This  anecdote,  whether  true  or  not,  is  very 
characteristic  of  Grant's  simple  retrospections : 
since  Culpepper,  he  has  been  made  General  and 
Secretary  of  War,  his  experience  has  inclined 
towards  civil,  administrative  and  political  duties, 
from  grade  to  grade,  conquering  them  as  he  ad- 
vanced in  the  army.  And  this  rare  advantage 
he  has  had,  that  his  promotion  has  been  rapid  as 
well  as  experimental,  so  that  he  knows  all  the  ac- 
tive men  and  minds  of  the  present  generation, 
and  he  knows  the  material  of  it  probably  better 
than  any  living  American. 

Hillyer  lived  in  St.  Louis  when  Grant  left 
his  little  farm  near  by  to  enter  the  firm  of 
"  Boggs  &  Grant,  Real  Estate  Agents,  Houses 
to  Rent."  In  those  days  he  had  a  desk  in  Hill- 
yer's  law  office. 

"  Was  the  General  silent  then  as  now  *?  " 

"  No.  We  considered  him  more  than  com- 
monly talkative.  So  he  is  now ;  but  he  won't 
talk  for  effect,  nor  before  strangers  freely.  This 
reticence  of  Grant,  so  much  talked  of,  is  partly 
discrimination  and  partly  the  form  of  an  old 
bashfulness  he  had  when  a  boy.  Anybody 
whom  he  knows  can  hear  him  speak  at  any  time. 

"  In  St.  Louis  I  liked  Grant.  He  was  enter- 
taining, and  I  was  attracted  towards  him  by  what 


78  General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant. 

I  hardly  knew  at  that  time.  Afterwards  I  knew 
it  to  be  a  manhood,  the  same  that  he  developed 
in  battle  so  well.  I  was  in  New  York  when  I 
heard  of  his  appointment,  and  soon  after  came 
a  telegraph  message  to  join  his  staff.  I  was  at 
the  Planters'  House,  in  St.  Louis,  on  business, 
soon  afterwards,  and  wishing  to  see  Grant  he 
rode  up  during  the  day  with  some  of  his  staff 
officers,  and  they  had  one  empty  horse. 

"'Here,  Hillyer,'  said  Grant,  'here's  your 
horse.  The  boat  has  been  waiting  for  me  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour.  Stir  yourself! ' 

" '  I  am  not  going,  Grant,  I  never  entertained 
the  notion  a  minute  in  earnest.' 

" '  Come  along !  I  can't  listen  to  that. 
Time  presses ! ' 

" '  But  I  have  not  written  to  my  wife.' 

"'Well!  that  you  had  better  do.  After 
this  next  action  I  am  going  into,  you  can  come 
home — if  you  don't  get  your  head  knocked  off 
first — and  fix  up  your  business.' " 

In  brief,  Hillyer  found  himself  going  down 
the  river  in  ten  minutes,  to  his  own  bewilder- 
ment, wondering  greatly  whether  he  could  stand 
up  in  action. 

"  Did  you  notice  any  strong  traits  of  charac- 
ter in  Grant  soon  afterward  *?  " 

"  His  courage  and  soldierly  vanity  in  action 
first  struck  me,  and  his  entire  willingness  to 


General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant.  79 

fight.  He  never  talked  before  action  as  if  he 
had  any  personal  forebodings,  but  grew  more 
cheerful  and  concentrated  as  the  time  of  battle 
approached.  His  indisposition  to  leave  any  po- 
sition he  had  taken  was  often  uncomfortable.  I 
remember  at  Pittsburg  Landing  that  he,  Raw- 
lings,  myself  and  some  other  staff  officers  were 
in  a  place  where  the  artillery  of  the  enemy  was 
concentrated.  Their  fire  was  terrible,  and  every 
instant  I  expected  to  have  my  head  shot  off. 
Grant  sat  on  horseback,  straight  and  cheerful,  as 
you  have  sometimes  seen  a  man  of  a  hot  day  go 
out  to  be  rained  on,  rather  enjoying  it.  He 
kept  us  all  in  half  agony.  One  officer  said  to 
me : 

"'Go  tell  the  Old  Man  to  leave  here  for 
God's  sake.' " 

"  No !  Tell  him  yourself.  He'll  think  me 
afraid,  and  so  I  am,  but  he  sha'nt  think  so ! ' 

"  There  we  sat,  the  fire  crossing  upon  us. 
At  last  one  of  the  green  members  of  the  staff 
rode  up  to  Grant,  saying : 

" '  General,  we  must  leave  this  place.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  stay  right  here.  If  we  do,  we 
shall  all  be  dead  in  five  minutes.' 

" '  I  guess  that's  so ! '  said  Grant,  and  he  rode 
away,  to  our  relief. 

"As  to  fear,"  continued  Hillyer,  "Grant 
used  to  say  that  he  had  seen  men  who  said  they 


8o  General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant. 

never  knew  what  it  was,  but  he  had  never  seen 
anybody  who  said  it  of  them.  Another  thing 
that  struck  me  with  Grant,  was  his  own  attempt 
frequently  to  supersede  his  own  good  luck.  At 
Donelson,  he  went  to  Commodore  Foote  and 
begged  him  to  run  past  the  rebel  guns  with  a 
gunboat  or  two.  Foote  replied,  saying  that  he 
would  be  shot  to  pieces.  Grant  maintained  that 
he  would  suffer  no  more  than  in  ordinary  bom- 
bardment. This  took  place  before  Farragut 
made  a  practical  demonstration  of  Grant's  theory. 
Now,  had  Foote  done  this,  the  rebels  would 
have  evacuated  Fort  Donelson,  and  the  battle 
and  capture  there  which  made  Grant  historic 
would  never  have  happened. 

"Grant  developed  wonderfully  in  the  war, 
and  though  I,  as  a  democrat,  opposed  his  elec- 
tion, I  had  no  doubt  that  he  was  the  safe,  strong 
man,  worthiest  to  lead  the  army.  There  is  needed 
no  better  instance  or  proof  to  this  effect  than  the 
following:    I  was  at  City  Point,  in  1865",  and 
sitting  close  by  Grant  I  saw  him  break  the  seal 
of  a  letter.     Then  he  smiled  good  naturedly. 
" '  What's  that,  General  Grant  ?  ' 
" '  A  letter  from  Sherman.     Read  it ! ' 
u  I  read  the  letter,  and  it  said  that  Sherman 
could  no  longer  hold  Atlanta,  his  line  being  too 
long.     He  asked  permission  to  destroy  the  town 
and  move  to  the  sea,  subsisting  upon  the  coun- 


General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant.  81 

try  and  turning  at  bay  to  fight  Hood  whenever 
the  latter  pursued  him  too  closely.  All  this 
seemed  brilliant  and  soldierly  to  me,  and  I  asked 
Grant  what  in  it  made  him  laugh. 

" '  Why,'  he  said,  '  I  was  wondering  what 
Hood  could  find  to  subsist  upon  if  he  followed 
in  the  rear  of  Sherman.' 

"  This  was  the  General  supplying  an  error  of 
genius.  Sherman  supposed  that  Hood  would 
follow  him.  Grant  knew  that  Hood  could  not 
eat  off  the  barren  and  devastated  country.  So 
he  sent  this  word  to  Sherman :  '  You  have  my 
permission  to  destroy  Atlanta  and  march  to  the 
sea  after  you  detach  Schofield  and  -  —  to  go 
to  Tennessee.  Hood  will  not  follow  you ;  he 
will  march  upon  Nashville.'  Now,  see  !  Had 
Sherman  carried  off  his  whole  force  seaward, 
mistaking  the  effect  of  his  movement  upon 
Hood,  Nashville  would  have  fallen,  Indiana  and 
Ohio  been  invaded,  and  the  Southern  Confedei- 
acy  been  an  accomplished  fact. 

"  Grant,"  said  Hillyer,  "  is  stern  as  Jupiter. 
There  is  no  finer  story  of  two  stern  men  than 
Grant  and  George  H.  Thomas  before  the  battle 
of  Nashville.  Thomas  has  a  dislike  of  being 
whipped,  and  he  is  cautious  and  sedate  to  the  last 
degree  till  the  time  for  decision  has  come. 
Grant  sent  word  to  Thomas  to  move  out  of  his 
works  and  attack  Hood.  Thomas  was  not 

4* 


82  General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant. 

ready,  and  he  went  on  deliberately  with  his  prep- 
arations. Grant  telegraphed  again :  '  The  coun- 
try is  excited.  Attack  ! '  Thomas  was  not  yet 
quite  ready.  Then  Grant  sent  John  A.  Logan 
to  Louisville,  to  be  ready  to  take  command,  and 
telegraphed  again :  *  If  you  do  not  attack  Hood 
before  -  -  date,  I  shall  be  under  the  painful 
necessity  of  relieving  you.'  Just  at  that  time 
Thomas  was  ready,  not  by  necessity,  but  by  the 
completion  of  his  affairs,  and  the  happy  collu- 
sion of  events  made  the  battle  of  Nashville  an 
honor  to  both.  "  * 

We  shall  say  nothing  in  reference  to  the  mil- 
itary achievements  of  General  Grant.  His  deeds 
speak  for  themselves. 

The  victor  at  Donelson,  Vicksburg,  Chatta- 
nooga, Appomattox,  needs  no  eulogy.  After 
some  of  his  great  victories,  General  Scott  show- 
ed his  appreciation  of  his  genius  by  presenting 
him  a  copy  of  his  auto-biography,  having  writ- 
ten on  one  of  its  blank  pages  : 

"  From  the  oldest  to  the  ablest  general  in  the 
world.  WINFIELD  SCOTT." 

Ulysses  S.  Grant  is  a  worthy  representative 
of  a  line  of  brave  and  intelligent  ancestors.  The 
spirit  of  Matthew  Grant,  the  pioneer,  and  the 
valiant  Captain  Noah,  lives  again  in  him.  De- 
scended from  one  of  the  Founders  of  New  Eng- 

*  Chicago  Tribune,  Jan.  18,  1869. 


General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant.  83 

land  and  from  hardy  veterans  who  served  in  our 
early  wars, — that  country  which  they  planted 
and  whose  greatness  they  fought  to  establish,  he, 
in  a  later  generation,  has  conserved  and  perpet- 
uated. The  Founder  is  restored  to  us  in  the  per- 
son of  the  great  Saviour  of  the  nation. 

It  will  be  a  fitting  sequel  to  this  chapter  to 
present  the  views  of  Professor  Mahan,  of  the 
United  States  Military  Academy,  in  reference  to 
the  genius  displayed  by  General  Grant  as  a  com- 
mander of  armies.  Professor  Mahan,  as  every 
intelligent  person  well  knows,  is  the  fore- 
most military  scholar  in  this  country.  He  grad- 
uated first  in  his  class  at  West  Point,  in  1824, 
studied  afterward,  at  the  school  of  Engineers 
and  Artillerists  at  Metz,  France,  and  has,  since, 
served  as  the  Professor  of  Engineering  in  the 
Military  Academy.  His  ideas  are  embodied  in 
the  following  letter : 

To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  Times. 

Some  one  has  taken  the  trouble  to  send  me  several  num- 
bers *  *  *  *  containing  a  series  of  articles,  of  course 
very  depreciatory,  on  General  Grant's  soldiership.  Having 
no  idea  as  to  whose  courtesy  I  am  indebted  for  these,  will 
you  allow  me,  through  the  Times,  to  say  to  my  unknown 
friend  that,  differing  toto  ccelo  from  the  views  put  forth  in 
them,  I  have,  for  the  last  few  years,  since  General  Grant's 
name  has  become  historical,  represented  his  generalship  in 
my  lectures  on  the  military  art  to  the  cadets  of  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  in  a  totally  different  light  from  that 
in  which  he  is  shown  up  in  these  articles,  and  that,  satisfied 


84  General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant. 

of  the  justness  of  my  \iews,  I  shall  continue  to  do  so,  so 
long  as  I  hold  my  present  official  position. 

The  military  renown  of  Alexander  rests  upon  his  con- 
quests of  the  unmilitary  hordes  of  the  East  by  the  largest 
and  finest  army,  in  every  respect,  that  Greece  up  to  this  time 
had  produced  ;  that  of  Hannibal  rests  upon  his  successful 
passage  of  the  Alps  into  Italy,  opposed  only  by  the  barbar- 
ous tribes  on  his  line  of  march,  and,  consequently,  by  rash 
and  incompetent  Roman  consuls  ;  Caesar's  on  his  conquest 
of  the  semi-barbarous  tribes  of  Gaul,  and  his  subsequent 
defeat  of  the  demoralized  forces  of  Pompey.  Frederick  the 
Great  and  Napoleon  I.  of  our  period,  on  their  victories  over 
armies  greatly  inferior  to  theirs  in  discipline,  and  led  by  gen- 
erals incompetent  from  age  and  military  talent ;  while  Grant 
has  crushed  one  of  the  most  formidable  rebellions,  whether 
we  regard  the  numbers,  the  intelligence,  and  the  means  en- 
gaged in  it,  that  the  world  has  ever  witnessed ;  and,  as  al- 
leged by  his  detractors,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  against 
leaders  superior  to  himself  in  generalship,  against  troops  su- 
perior to  his  own  in  chivalry,  dash,  and  all  other  fighting 
qualities  ;  operating  in  a  country  every  inch  of  which  was 
known  to  them,  and  rendered  defensive  by  all  the  resources 
of  nature  and  art  skilfully  combined  ;  and  this  he  did  by 
measures  of  which  he  was  the  originator,  taking  for  his  own 
position  the  most  important  and  most  difficult  one  of  the  work 
to  be  done. 

Happily  for  American  patriotism,  the  descendants  of  the 
men  who  are  now  defaming  Grant's  military  actions  will  live 
to  blush  for  their  sires,  and  glory  in  the  grand  results  of 
Grant's  triumphs  ;  and  when  these  detractions,  which  are  as 
ephemeral  as  the  sheets  which  contain  them,  now  scattered 
broadcast  through  railroad  cars  and  grog  shops,  and  their 
authors,  shall  have  long  passed  away  from  the  memory  of 
man,  Grant's  name  and  military  fame,  like  those  of  the  great 
captains  who  have  preceded  him,  will  loom  up,  grander  and 
grander,  as  they  recede  into  the  mists  of  successive  ages. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

D.  H.  MAHAN. 

West  Point,  Sept.  8,  1868. 


PART     II. 
MISCELLANEOUS     PAPERS, 

1.    THE    CLAN    OF    GRANTS. 


Coat  of  Arms,  Earl  of  Seafield.— Motto,  "  Stand  Fast." 

THE  Highland  Clan  of  Grants  is  one  of  the 
most  ancient  and  honorable  of  the  Scottish 
clans.  It  is  asserted,  by  some,  that  they  are  of 
Danish  descent,  from  Aquin  de  Grand,  or  Grant. 
Others  say  that  the  surname  Grant,  is  derived 
from  the  French  word  grand,  great  or  valorous, 
and  that  they  came  originally  from  Normandy. 
Skene,  however,  denies  these  statements  and 
maintains  that  they  are  of  Gaelic  origin,  the 
clan  itself  having  claimed  that  they  are  a  branch 
of  the  Macgregors,  and  this,  he  declares,  is 


86  'The  Clan  of  Grants. 

the  ancient  and  unvarying  tradition  of  the 
country.* 

The  earliest  account  we  have  of  the  Grants 
begins  with  Gregory  de  Grant,  who,  in  1214, 
was  Sheriff  of  Inverness.  Their  ancient  seat 
was  at  Strathspey,  which  was  about  twenty- 
five  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Inverness,  and 
they  afterwards  acquired  Glenmoriston,  Glen- 
urquahart,  and  other  estates,  including  the 
peerage  of  Seafield.  The  ancient  clan  was  di- 
vided into  two  principal  divisions,  the  Grants 
of  Grant  at  Strathspey,  and  the  Grants  of 
Glenmoriston  and  Urquahart. 

The  Strathspey  Grants,  who  were  the  chief 
and  oldest  portion  of  the  clan,  occupied  a  ter- 
ritory about  thirty  miles  square  south  of  and 
bordering  on  the  present  shore  of  Nairn.  The 
Grants  of  Urquahart  and  Glenmoriston  dwelt 
west  of  the  Loch  Ness,  their  territory  extend- 
ing from  about  the  site  of  the  present  town  of 
Kilmore,  perhaps  fifty  miles  southward  and 
twenty  miles  in  a  westerly  direction.^  "  The 
Grants  of  Glenmoriston  were  not  the  chiefs  of 
the  clan.  This  honor  belonged  to  the  house 
of  Freuchie,  worthily  represented  by  the  pres- 
ent noble  proprietor,  Lord  Seafield.  Still, 

*  Buchanan,  Anct.  Scot.  Surnames,  p.  43. 

Skenis  Highland  Clans.   Vol.  II.  p.  255. 

Scott.  Am.  Journal,  New  York,  March  26,  1864. 
•f  Map  of  the  Clans.     Browne  s  Highland  Clans. 


The  Clan  of  Grants.  87 

they  occupied  a  position  in  feudal  times  second 
only  to  the  chief,  and  quite  equal  to  some  who 
were  acknowledged  chieftains  of  clans,  and 
could  bring  as  many  men  as  they  into  the 
field."*  Of  the  country  of  the  second  division 
of  the  clan  a  modern  writer  -j*  says  : — Urqua- 
hart  was  called  Urchudin  Thiarna  Ghrant,  or 
the  Laird  of  Grant's  Urquahart.  Glenmoris- 
ton  or  Glenmore-essen,  "  the  glen  of  the  great 
waterfall,"  derives  its  name  from  the  beautiful 
cascades  on  the  river  which  flows  through  it. 
This  exquisitely  beautiful  parish  is  more  varied 
in  mountain,  hill  and  dale,  lake  and  stream, 
than  perhaps  any  other  in  the  Highlands.  A 
more  ancient  writer  speaking  of  both  countries 
of  the  Grants  says  : — "  The  great  woods  of 
Glenmore  and  Abernethy,  the  property  of  the 
Duke  of  Gordon,  and  the  Laird  of  Grant  were 
reckoned  the  oldest  and  best  in  quality  of  any 
in  Scotland."!  The  castle  Urquahart,  situ- 

*  (Inverness  Courier)  Scott.  Am.  Jour.  New  York,  Jan.  30, 
1869. 

f  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland.    Vol.  XIV. 
J  Logans  Scottish  Gael.    Vol.  I.  p.  80. 

A  curious  account  is  given  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  a  number  of  orphan  children  whose  parents  had 
been  slain  in  battle  by  the  united  forces  of  the  Marquis  of  Hunt- 
ly  and  the  Laird  of  Grant  were  fed  from  a  trough,  like  pigs,  at 
the  castle  of  the  Marquis  of  Huntly.  The  Laird  of  Grant,  how- 
ever, who  was  "  a  man  of  humanity  "  took  them  to  Castle  Grant 
and  had  them  brought  up  decently.  Their  descendants  are  still 
called  the  Race  of  the  Trough.  Tales  of  a  Grandfather.  Vol.  II. 
P-  325, 


88  The  Clan  of  Grants. 

ated  at  about  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Kil- 
more  on  the  Loch  Ness  was  held  by  the  Grants 
from  an  early  period,  and  was,  from  its  posi- 
tion, of  considerable  military  importance.  "  It 
was  one  of  the  chain  of  fortresses  which,  from 
earliest  times,  stretched  across  the  Great  Glen 
from  Inverness  to  Inverlochy  and  secured  the 
country  from  invasion.  It  is  on  the  western 
promontory  of  Urquahart  Bay  and  overhangs 
Loch  Ness.  It  was  besieged  and  taken  by 
Edward  I.  in  1303.  This  castle  was  held  for 
the  King  by  the  great  family  of  Grant  of 
Freuchie,  now  styled  Grant  of  Grant,  and  in 
1509  King  James  IV.  granted  three  charters 
of  the  lordship  of  Urquahart  and  baronies  of 
Urquahart  and  Glenmoriston  to  John  Grant 
of  Freuchie  and  his  two  sons,  from  the  latter 
of  whom  are  descended  the  Grants  of  Glen- 
moriston and  Corrymony."  * 

The  fame  of  the  Grants  was  sung  about 
fifty  years  ago  by  a  lowland  poet,  Sir  Alexan- 
der Boswell : — 

"  Come  the  Grants  of  Tullochgorum 
WT  their  pipers  gaun  before  'em 
Proud  the  mothers  are  that  bore  'em. 

Next  the  Grants  of  Rothiemurchus, 
Every  man  his  sword  and  durk  has, 
Every  man  as  proud's  a  Turk  is." 

The  ancient  war  cry  of  the  clan  was  "  Craig 

*  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland.  Vol  .XIV. 


The  Clan  of  Grants.  89 

Elachaidh,"  the  rallying-place,  of  which  there 
were  two  in  Strathspey.  The  division  of  this 
tribe  called  Clan  Chirin  has  properly  the  cry, 
"Craig  Ravoch  "  to  which  is  added  '  Stand  sure,' 
the  others  saying  c  Stand  fast.'  "  *  The  war  cry 
is  sometimes  given,  now-a-days,  "  Stand  fast, 
Craig  Ellachie,"  their  hill  of  rendezvous,  situat- 
ed in  the  united  parishes  of  Dutilh  and  Rothie- 
murchus,  being  named  Craig-Ellachie,  or  rock 
of  alarm.  The  badge  of  the  ancient  clan  was 
the  pine, — pinus  sylvestris.  It  is  important 
that  some  account  should  be,  also,  given  of 
the  tartan  which  was  the  distinctive  dress  of 
the  Grants,  for  all  the  clans  had  a  costume. 
Possibly  the  distinguished  representative  of  the 
family  at  Washington  may  desire  to  appear  in 
the  ancient  tartan  of  his  clan,  at  the  brilliant 
fetes  and  receptions  in  the  White  House, — 
certainly  it  would  be  eminently  suggestive  and 
historical.  The  following,  then,  is  the  scale 
of  proportion  for  the  colors  of  the  Grant  tar- 
tan,— i  red,  i  blue,  i  red,  i  blue,  18  red,  i 
azure,  \  red,  5  blue,  i  red,  \  green,  i  red,  21 
green,  \  red,  \  blue,  22  red,  i  blue,  J  red,  21 
green,  i  red,  \  green,  i  red,  5  blue,  i  red,  i 
azure,  iSred,  J  blue,  \  red,  i  blue,  2i  red. 
This  is  calculated  from  a  standard  of  i  of  an 

*  Logan's  Scottish  Gael.  Vol.  I.  p.  296. 


90  The  Clan  of  Grants. 

inch.  A  web  of  tartan  is  two  feet,  two  inches 
wide.* 

Lodge's  Genealogy  of  the  Peerage  fur- 
nishes us  the  following  historical  account  of 
the  Grants.  "  The  surname  of  Grant  is  of 
great  antiquity  in  Scotland,  and  its  earliest 
history  is  lost  in  traditionary  uncertainty ; 
but,  so  early  as  the  reign  of  Alexander  II. 
[1214]  Gregory  de  Grant,  from  whom  the 
pedigree  of  the  Earl  of  Seafield  and  Lord 
Glenelg  is  uninterruptedly  deduced,  was 
Sheriff  of  Inverness. 

His  son  Dominus  Laurentius  de  Grant  is 
witness  to  an  extant  deed  dated  1258.  This 
Lawrence  had  two  sons  Sir  John  and  Ralph, 
who,  firmly  attached  to  the  interest  of  Bruce 
against  Baliol,  joined  the  brave  Sir  William 
Wallace  in  defence  of  the  liberties  of  their 
country,  and  were,  at  length,  carried  prisoners 
by  King  Edward  I.  to  London  from  whence 
they  were  liberated  upon  bail  in  1297.  From 
Sir  John,  the  elder  of  these  brothers,  proceed- 
ed, through  seven  uninterrupted  male  de- 
scents," the  present  titled  families  of  the 
Grants.  John  Grant,  in  1509,  was  a  good 
poet,  and  has  in  the  family  archives  the  name 
of  Bard.  It  is  said  that  none  of  his  poems  are 
extant. 

*  Logan. 


'The  Clan  of  Grants.  91 

'  In  the  present  day  the  family  of  the  Grants 
is  quite  as  numerous  in  the  Highlands  and  as 
honorable  as  in  ancient  times.  There  is  not 
the  slightest  difficulty  in  finding,  among  them, 
a  coat-of-arms,  indeed,  there  are  so  many  coats- 
of-arms  that  the  only  difficulty  consists  in  mak- 
ing a  selection.  However  much  it  may  shock 
our  republican  notions,  it  is  certainly  I'emharras 
des  richesses.  We  give  above,  however,  the 
coat-of-arms  of  the  Earl  of  Seafield,  who  holds 
Strathspey,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Grants  of 
Grant,  and  may  be  styled  now  the  chief  of  the 
clan.  The  writer,  however,  who  makes  no 
claim  to  a  knowledge  of  heraldry,  is  informed 
that  this  coat-of-arms  is  the  personal  property 
of  Lord  Seafield,  and  no  other  member  of  the 
clan  of  Grants  is  entitled  to  use  it.  Perhaps 
the  people  of  the  United  States  would  prefer 
that  the  coat-of-arms  of  General  Grant  should 
be  the  shield  of  the  Union,  having  for  a  tre- 
monty  Vicksburg  Heights,  Lookout  Moun- 
tain, and  Appomattox,  the  whole  to  be  crossed 
with  his  own  good  sword.  Titles  of  nobility 
are,  however,  forbidden  by  the  constitution, 
and  we,  as  Americans,  prefer  personal  merit  to 
honors  which  are  inherited. 

"  The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp 
The  man's  the  gowd  for  a'  that." 

The  ancient  Castle  Grant,  the  seat  of  the 


92  'The  Clan  of  Grants. 

Grants  of  Grant  is  situated  in  Banffshire,  four 
miles  west  of  Cromdale.  It  is  said  that  this 
castle  contains  many  interesting  paintings. 
Grantown,  a  pretty  village  which  has  sprung 
up  during  the  last  century,  is  situated  on  the 
Spey  River  in  a  detached  part  of  Inverness- 
shire.  It  possesses  a  town -house,  prison, 
hospital,  and  two  free  schools.  It  has  a  pop- 
ulation of  about  six  hundred. 

Burke's  Peerage  furnishes  us  the  following 
list  of  the  present  representatives,  in  the  High- 
lands, of  this  ancient  and  noble  clan : 

Earl  of  Seafield  (Sir  John  Charles  Grant 
— Ogilvy,)  Viscount  Reidhaven,  Baron  Ogil- 
vy,  Baron  Strathspey  of  Strathspey,  co's  In- 
verness and  Moray,  etc.  An  ancestor  assumed 
the  additional  name  Ogilvy.  Motto,  "  Stand 
fast."  Seats, — Cullen  House,  Banffshire,  Cas- 
tle Grant,  Inverness,  and  Grant  Lodge,  Elgin. 
Burke  calls  the  earl  in  one  place,  a  Grant  of 
Grants,  and  in  another,  a  Grant  of  clan  Chi- 
aran.  We  will  not  decide  the  question. 

Baron  Glenelg  (Charles  Grant,)  of  Glenelg, 
co.  Inverness.  A  Grant  of  Grants.  Motto, 
"Stand  sure."  Seat,  Waternish,  Inverness- 
shire.  He  was  principal  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Colonial  Department.  Died,  unmarried,  April 
23,  1866,  at  Cannes,  France,  when  the  title 
became  extinct.  This  is  so  recent  an  event 


Clan  of  Grants.  93 

however,  that  some  notice  of  Lord  Glenelg 
may  be  interesting.  His  brother,  Right  Hon. 
Sir  Robert  Grant,  G.  C.  H.,  Governor  of 
Bombay,  born  1785,  died  1838,  was  the  au- 
thor of  two  very  beautiful  hymns  which  are 
found  in  most  of  our  hymn-books. 
The  first  lines  of  one  of  them  are — 

"Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken 
All  to  leave  and  follow  thee  ;" 

And,  of  the  other, — 

"  When  gathering  clouds  around  I  view, 
And  days  are  dark  and  friends  are  few." 

Sir  Alexander  Grant  of  Dalvey,  Bart.  A 
Grant  of  Grants,  vice-Chancellor  of  the  Uni- 
versity and  principal  of  the  Elphinstone  col- 
lege, Bombay — residence,  Bombay.  Descend- 
ed from  John  Grant,  the  Bard. 

Sir  Archibald  Grant,  of  Monymusk,  co. 
Aberdeen,  Bart.  A  Grant  of  Grants. 

Sir  George  Macpherson  Grant  of  Ballen- 
dalloch,  co.  Elgin.  The  Grants  were  in  the 
female  line.  The  Macphersons  assumed  the 
name  of  Grant. 

James  Murray  Grant,  Esq.,  of  Glenmo- 
riston,  co.  Inverness  and  Moy,  seats,  Glen- 
moriston,  co.  Inverness,  and  Moy  House, 
co.  Moray. 

John  Grant,  Esq.,  of  Kilgraston,  co. 
Perth,  seats  Kilgraston  House,  Bridge  of  Earn, 
Perthshire. 


94  The  Grant  Homestead. 

Robert  Grant,  Esq.,  of  Kincorth,  co.  Mo- 
ray. Seats,  Kincorth  and  Forrer  Houses, 
Morayshire. 

In  this  country,  in  the  French  and  Indian 
war,  Major  James  Grant  of  the  Highland 
regiment,  of  the  British  regulars,  was  defeated 
September  n,  1758,  near  fort  Du  Quesne. 
The  same  officer  was  a  major-general  in  the 
British  army,  at  the  battles  of  Long  Island, 
Brandywine,  and  Germantown,  and  defeated 
General  Lee  in  New  Jersey.  He  died  very 
old,  at  his  seat  at  Ballendalloch,  near  Elgin,  in 
May  1806.*  He  was  maternal  uncle  to  the 
father  of  Sir  George  Macpherson  Grant,  of  the 
present  day. 

2.    THE    GRANT    HOMESTEAD TWO      HUNDRED 

YEARS      OLD. 

If  we  suppose  that  Matthew  or  one  of  his  an- 
cestors, came,  at  some  remote  period,  whereor 
the  light  of  history  is  dim  and  uncertain,  from 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Castle  Urquahart, 
situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  Loch  Ness,  or 
of  Castle  Grant  in  the  country  of  the  Grants  of 
Grant,  the  younger  scions  of  the  clan  being  com- 
pelled by  the  action  of  the  law  of  primogeniture 
which  enriched  the  elders  at  their  expense,  to 
seek  prosperity  in  other  lands,  so,  perhaps,  may 
we  imagine  did  Noah  Grant  the  son  of  the  second 

*Z>jr.  Col.  Hist.  N.   T.       £roJhtad,\o\.  X.  p.  903. 


Grant  Homestead.  95 

Samuel  Grant,  influenced  by  the  same  cause,  for 
the  entailment  of  estates  was  not  abolished  in 
Connecticut  until  after  the  revolution,  depart 
from  the  home  of  his  fathers  at  East  Windsor 
Hill  and  seek  for  "fresher  fields  and  pastures 
green"  in  the  new  settlement  at  Tolland.  Other, 
and  somewhat  dissimilar  causes  have  led  the  fam- 
ily to  wander  westward,  and,  as  Matthew  Grant 
might,  perhaps,  in  days  of  yore,  return  in  im- 
agination to  the  castles  of  the  Grants  in  the 
Highlands,  so  now,  may  the  descendants  in 
Ohio  look  back  to  the  old  homestead  which  came 
to  them  from  Matthew,  the  pioneer,  and  has 
been  preserved  in  the  family,  descending  from 
father  to  son  through  several  generations  to  the 
present  possessor.  The  title  to  this  farm,  which 
has  been  about  two  hundred  years  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  family,  was  acquired  as  follows  : 
On  the  I5th  of  May  1673,  tne  decree  of  the  Gen- 
eral Court  of  Connecticut  was  entered,  "this 
Court  grants  unto  Matthew  Grant  of  Windsor 
TOO  acres  of  land,"  which  land  was  laid  out  in 
1674  "without  the  east  bounds  of  Windsor," 
and  was  assigned  by  Matthew  Grant  to  his  sons 
Samuel  and  John  in  February,  1674,  '75.*  The 
history  of  these  lands  is  exceedingly  interest- 
ing. The  homestead  is  one  of  a  very  few  in 
this  country  which  have  remained  continuous- 

*(Col.  Rec.   Lands  7,  328)  Conn.  Col.  Rec.  1665,  1677,  edited 
by  Hon.  J.  H.  Trumbull,  pp.  198,  225. 


96  The  Grant  Homestead. 

ly,  through  many  generations,  in  possession  of 
the  male  representatives  of  the  family.  Ma- 
jor Frederic  William  Grant,  the  present  ov/ner 
of  the  homestead,  in  a  letter  to  the  writer, 
speaking  of  Noah  Grant  who  settled  in  Tol- 
land,  of  Captain  Ebenezer  Grant,  his  own  grand- 
father, and  other  children  of  Samuel  Grant, 
Junior,  says :  "  The  old  house  they  were  born  in 
stood  on  the  same  spot  on  which  I  now  live, 
and  some  of  its  timbers  were  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  new  one  in  1757.  Another 
singular  fact  is  that  the  farm  on  which  I  now 
live  has  come  down  in  regular  descent  from  fa- 
ther to  son  since  the  time  of  Samuel,  the  elder." 
Yes,  it  is  the  old  farm,  and  Major  Grant's 
title  to  the  land  is  derived  from  Matthew  the 
pioneer.  His  son  Samuel  reclaimed  it  from  the 
Indians.  Since  the  savages  roamed  there,  no 
white  men  but  Grants  have  lived  upon  this 
land.  We  are  carried  back  almost  in  imagi- 
nation to  the  castles  of  the  ancient  clan  in  the 
Highlands. 

It  would  be  an  interesting  subject  of  inves- 
tigation to  trace  out  the  history  of  other  an- 
cient homesteads  which  are  sometimes  found 
in  New  England  and  the  older  states.  The 
homestead,  whereon  Mr.  Elihu  Marshall  re- 
sides, in  Windsor,  has  descended  from  the 
pioneer  Captain  Samuel  Marshall,  who  pur- 


Ihe  Grant  Homestead.  97 

chased  it  in  1670  from  an  Indian  Sachem. 
The  Ellsworth  place, — the  home  of  the  late 
Chief  Justice  Ellsworth,  bears  date  from  the 
year  1655,  when  it  was  purchased  by  Josias 
Ellsworth.  This  ground  was  first  occupied 
by  Sir  Robert  Saltonstall's  men,  and  was,  at  one 
time,  owned  by  Sir  Robert.  It  is  now  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Frederick  Ellsworth,  the 
grandson  of  the  Chief  Justice.  The  home- 
stead of  the  Hay  dens  is  owned  and  occupied 
by  Mr.  George  P.  Hayden  of  Windsor,  a 
relative  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Hayden,  of  New 
York.  This  homestead  was  purchased  by  the 
pioneer  William  Hayden  *  in  1642,  and  has 
remained  in  the  family  to  this  day.  The 
Loomis  homestead  is  the  oldest  of  any  in  Wind- 
sor. This  homestead  was  acquired  by  Jo- 
seph Loomis,  Senior,  in  1639,  an'^  ^as  ^e" 
scended  in  the  family  to  its  present  proprietor 
Mr.  Thomas  W.  Loomis,  a  cousin  of  Mr. 
Hezekiah  B.  Loomis  of  New  York.  These 
latter  homesteads,  of  the  Loomis  and  Hayden 
families,  are  older  than  the  Stuyvesant  and 

*  He  bought  land  at  the  extreme  north  end  of  the  street  run- 
ning north  and  easterly  from  the  palisado,  and  built  his  home 
upon  it,  probably  before  leaving  Hartford.  His  house  stood  at 
the  junction  of  the  roads,  say  twenty  or  thirty  rods  from  Hayden 
Station:  his  home  lot  included  the  site  of  the  railroad  sta- 
tion. The  grounds,  for  a  considerable  extent,  at  and  around 
the  site  of  the  original  house,  have  never  been  out  of  the  Hayden 
family,  but  are  now  owned  by  Mr.  George  P.  Hayden,  who  lives 
within  a  few  rods  of  the  spot  where  the  first  house  stood. — Notes 
of  Mr.  Jabez  H.  Hayden. 


98  The  Dorchester  Records. 

Beekman  estates  of  New  York  City.  Sir 
Petrus  Stuyvesant  *  arrived  in  New  York  in 
1647,  and  William  Beekman  purchased  the 
Beekman  estate  in  1670.  The  Beekman  and 
Stuyvesant  estates  have  not,  also,  been  occu- 
pied continuously  as  homesteads.  The  Van 
Rensselaer  property  at  Albany  is,  undoubtedly, 
older  than  the  Windsor  homesteads. 

3.    THE    FIRST    ENTRY    IN    THE    DORCHESTER 
RECORDS. 

The  following  is  the.  first  entry  of  Matthew 
Grant's  name  found  in  the  old  town  records  of 
Dorchester,  Mass. : 

Anno,  April  3,  1633.  It  is  agreed  that  a 
doble  rayle  with  morteses  in  the  posts  of  ic 
foote  distance  one  from  the  other,  shall  be  set 
up  in  the  marsh,  from  the  corner  of  Richard 
Phelps,  his  pale  eastward  to  the  Creeke,  by 
the  owners  of  the  cowes  under  named,  pd  por- 
tionally,  20  foote  to  every  cowe. 

Cowes.  Foote. 

Mr.  Ludlowe  2  40 

Mr.  Johnson  i  -  20 

Henry  Woolcott  3  60 

"Mr.  Rosseter  4  80 

Mr.  Terry  2  40 

*  Nicholas  William  Stuyvesant,  Esq.,  of  New  York  city, 
who  is  of  this  honorable  ancestry,  kindly  informs  the  author, 
from  memory,  that  the  princely  estates  of  Governor  Stuyvesant, 
called  his  "Bouwerie,"  were  purchased  about  the  year  1654. 


The  Dorchester  Records.  99 

Cowes.  Foote. 

Mr.  Smith  2  40 

Mr.  Gallope  i  20 

Thorn,  ffoard  2  40 

Mr.  Warham  3  60 

Mr.  Mavericke  2  40 

Mr.  Hull  3  60 

Matthew  Graunt         2  40 

Will.  Rockwell  2  40 

John  Hoskeins  3  60 

Nicho.  Denslowe 
Giles  Gibbes  i  20 

William  Phelps  2  40 

Symon  Hoite  2  40 

Mr.  Stoughton  4  80 

Eltw'd  Pumery  2  40 

William  Gaylard          i  20 

George  Dyer  2  40 

And  this  to  be  done  by  the  yth  of  May 
next  ensuing,  upon  the  payne  of  forfeiture  of 
5  shillings  for  every  cowe,  in  cause  it  be  not 
done  by  the  tyme  appoynted. 

And  for  the  tyme  to  come0   every  other 
owner  that  shall  have  milch  cowes,  they  shall 
pay  12  pence  a  piece  for  every  cowe,  towarde 
the  maynetayneing  of  these  rayles.     Signed  : 
John  Mavericke,  John  Warham.  * 

*  Dor.  Town  Re:s.  N.  Eng.  His.  and  Gen.  Reg.  vol.  XXI.,  p. 
166. 

Next  to  the  early  records  of  Salem,  this  is  the  oldest  book  of 


ioo       Matthew  Grant's  Family  Record. 

4.    MATTHEW  GRANT'S  FAMILY  RECORD. 

An  extract  from  the  manuscript  Note- 
Book  of  Matthew  Grant,  giving  his  family 
record,  furnished  by  the  Hon.  J.  Hammond 
Trumbull  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  for  the 
supplement  to  Stiles'  History  of  Windsor. 

"  Matthew  Graunt  was  married  to  his  first 
wife  Prissilla,  in  the  year  1625,  November  16. 
She  died  in  the  yeare  1644,  April  27,  being  43 
years  of  age  and  2  months.  Children  --  Pris- 
silla Graunt  was  borne  in  the  yeare  1626,  Sep- 
tember 14 ;  Samuel  Graunt  was  borne  in  the 
yeare  1631,  November  12 ;  Tahan  Graunt  was 
borne  in  the  yeare  1633,  Februarie  3;  John 
Graunt  was  borne  in  the  yeare  1642,  April  30. 

"  May  the  29,  1645,  Matthew  Graunt  and 
Susanna  [wid.  of  William  Rockwell]  were 
married.  Matthew  Graunt  was  then  three 
and  forty  years  of  age,  seven  months  and 
eighteen  days;  borne  in  the  year  1601,  Octo- 
ber 27,  Tuesdaye.  Susanna  Graunt  was  then 
three  and  forty  years  of  age,  seven  weeks  and 
4  days;  borne  in  the  yeare  1602,  April  the  5, 
Monday.  Children  of  Susanna  by  her  first 
husband — Joan  Rockwell  was  born  in  the  yeare 
1625,  April  the  25 ;  John  Rockwell  was  borne 

records  in  Massachusetts  proper.  Somewhat  more  than  four 
pages  of  the  original  records  are  missing.  Gen.  Reg.  vol.  XXI., 
p.  163,  etc. 


Matthew  Grant's  Rules.  101 

in  the  year  1625,  July  the  18;  Samuel  Rock- 
well was  borne  in  the  year  1631,  March  the 
28 ;  Sara  Rockwell  was  borne  in  the  yeare 
1638,  July  the  24. 

"  November  14,  1666,  my  wife  Susanna 
died,  being  aged  64  years  and  Jr,  5  weeks  and 
4  dayes,  and  since  shee  and  I  married  is  21 
year,  24  weeks." 

5.   MATTHEW  GRANT'S  RULES  FOR  MEASURING 

LAND. 

"  Rules  which  I  haue  lamed  by  experance  in  practic  for  helpes 
in  measuering  Land. 

In  the  euse  of  the  Compas — 

In  riming  upon  a  poynt  euery  fiue  rod  opens  one  rod  be- 
twene  to  poyantes.  fower  rod  upon  twenty  and  so  onward. 

Runing  out  upon  three  poyntes  6  rod  in  length  and  drawe  a 
strayght  loyne  from  the  eand  of  the  first  poynt  to  the  eand  of  the 
third  poynt :  and  the  said  loyne  will  cut  of  one  quarter  of  a  rod 
of  the  length  of  the  second  poynt  in  the  midell : 

but  drawe  a  way  the  sayd  loyne  upon  a  square  from  the  eand 
of  the  first  poynt  thin  the  second  poynt  will  be  six  rod  and  a  half: 
and  the  third  poynt  will  be  seuen  rod  and  one  quarter  in  length." 

FROM  MATTHEW  GRANT'S  Note  Book,  contributed  by  Hon. 
J.  H.  Trumbull. 

6.    THE  CONSTITUTIONS    OF   1638  AND  1650 
OF  THE  COLONY  OF  CONNECTICUT. 

The  Preamble : — "  Forasmuch  as  it  hath 
pleased  the  Allmighty  God,  by  the  wise  dis- 
position of  his  diuyne  poiidence,  so  to  order 
and  dispose  of  things,  that  we  the  inhabitants 
and  residents  of  Windsor,  Harteford  and 
Weathersfield,  are  now  cohabiting  and  dwelling 


IO2  'The  Early  Constitutions. 

in  and  vppon  the  river  of  Conectecotte,  and 
the  lands  thereunto  adioyneing.  And  well 
knowing  where  a  people  are  gathered  togather, 
the  word  of  God  requires  that  to  mayntayne 
the  peace  and  vnion  of  such  a  people,  there 
should  be  an  orderly  and  decent  government 
established  according  to  God  to  order  and 
dispose  of  the  affayres  of  the  people  at  all 
seasons  as  occation  shall  require ;  doe  there- 
fore assotiate  and  conioyne  our  selues  to  be  as 
one  Publike  State  or  Commonwelth  ;  and  doe, 
for  owr  selues  and  ovr  successors,  and  such  as 
shall  bee  adioyned  to  vs  att  any  tyme  hereafter, 
enter  into  Combination  -and  Confederation  to- 
gather, to  mayntayne  and  prsearue  the  liberty 
and  purity  of  the  gospell  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
wch  we  now  prfesse  as  also  the  disciplyne  of 
the  Churches,  wch  according  to  the  truth  of 
the  said  gospell,  is  now  practised  amongst  vs. 
And  also,  in  or  Ciuell  Affaires  to  be  guided  and 
gouerned  according  to  such  Lawes,  Rules,  Or- 
ders and  decrees,  as  shall  be  made,  ordered,  and 
decreed,  as  followeth  ;"  [the  constitution  :] 

It  was  provided  in  Section  I.  that  the  "gen- 
erall  Court  shall  have  power  to  administer  ius- 
tice  according  to  the  lawes  here  established, 
and  for  want  thereof,  according  to  the  rule  of 
the  word  of  God." 

At  the  revision  in  1650,  it  was  ordered,  in 


The  Early  Constitutions.  103 

reference  to  "  Schooles" — "  That  euery  Town- 
shipp  within  this  Jurisdiction,  after  the  Lord 
hath  increased  them  to  the  number  of  fifty 
householders,  shall  then  forthwith  appoint  one 
within  theire  Towne  to  teach  all  such  children 
as  shall  resorte  to  him  to  write  and  read ;"  and 
"  where  any  Towne  shall  increase  to  the  num- 
ber of  one  hundred  families  or  householders,  they 
shall  sett  vp  a  Grammar  Schoole,  the  masters 
thereof  being  able  to  instruct  youths  so  farr  as 
they  may  bee  fitted  for  the  "  Vniversity," — 
[Cambridge.]* 

The  constitution  of  1638  was  the  first  writ- 
ten constitution  of  the  new  world.  It  was 
framed  by  the  distinguished  Roger  Ludlow,  of 
Windsor.  "  It  sets  out  with  the  practical  re- 
cognition of  the  doctrine  that  all  ultimate  power 
is  lodged  with  the  people.  The  body  of  the 
people  is  the  body  politic.  From  the  people 
flow  the  fountains  of  law  and  justice.  This 
paper  has  another  remarkable  trait.  There  is 
to  be  no  taxation  without  representation  in 
Connecticut.  The  towns,  too,  are  recognized 
as  independent  municipalities.  They  are  the 
primary  centres  of  power,  older  than  the  con- 
stitution— the  makers  and  builders  of  the  State. 
Such  was  the  constitution  of  Connecticut.  I 
have  said  it  was  the  oldest  of  American  consti- 

*  Conn.  Col.  Rec.    Hon.  J.  H.  7*.  1665,  1667,  pp.  20,  554. 


IO4  The  Early  Constitutions. 

tutions.  More  than  this,  I  might  say,  it  is  the 
mother  of  them  all.  It  has  been  modified  in 
different  States  to  suit  the  circumstances  of 
the  people,  and  the  use  of  their  respective 
territories ;  but  the  representative  system 
peculiar  to  the  American  republics,  was  first 
unfolded  by  Ludlow,  and  by  Hooker,  Haynes, 
Wolcott,  Steele,  Sherman,  Stone,  and  the 
other  far-sighted  men  of  the  colony  who  must 
have  advised  and  counseled  to  do,  what  they 
and  all  the  people  in  the  three  towns  met 
together  in  a  mass  to  sanction  and  adopt  as 
their  own."  "Kings  have  been 

dethroned,"  says  Bancroft,  the  eloquent 
American  historian, f  c  recalled,  dethroned  again, 
and  so  many  constitutions  framed  or  formed, 
stifled  or  subverted,  that  memory  may  despair 
of  a  complete  catalogue  ;  but  the  people  of 
Connecticut  have  found  no  reason  to  deviate 
essentially  from  the  government  as  established 
by  their  fathers.  History  has  ever  celebrated 
the  commanders  of  armies  on  which  victory 
has  been  entailed,  the  heroes  who  have  won 
laurels  in  scenes  of  carnage  and  rapine.  Has 
it  no  place  for  the  founders  of  states,  the  wise 
legislators  who  struck  the  rock  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  the  waters  of  liberty  gushed  forth  in 
copious  and  perennial  fountains  ?  " — Hollister^ 
Hist.  Conn.,  Vol.  I.  p.  89. 


'The  Freemen  of  1669. 


105 


7.  A  LIST  OF  THE  FREEMEN  OF  ANCIENT  WIND- 
SOR, AND  SOME  NOTICES  OF  THEIR  DESCEN- 
DANTS. 

"  October  nth,  1669.  A  list  of  all  the  free, 
men  that  Hue  within  the  limits  of  Windsor, 
in  reference  to  the  order  of  the  General  Court, 
May  13  :  '69,  requiring  ye  same. 


Mr.  Allyn  Mathew, 
Thomas  Alyn, 
Benedic  Aluard, 
John  Bissell,  Se'r., 
John  Bissell,  Jun'r., 
Thomas  Bissell, 
Samuel  Bissell, 
Nathanael  Bissell, 
John  Barber, 
Samuel  Baker, 
John  Bartlet, 
William  Buel, 
Timothy  Buckland, 
Nicholas  Buckland, 
Thomas  Burnam, 
Peter  Brown, 
Mr.  Daniel  Clark, 
Edward  Chapman, 
Nathanell  Cooke, 
John  Coult, 
Christop :    Crow, 
Thomas  Deble, 
Henery  Denslo, 
John  Denslo, 
John  Drak, 
Job  Drak, 
Jacob  Drak, 
James  Eanno, 
5* 


Begat  Eggelston,  Timothy  Hall, 

James  Eggelston,  Anthony  Hoskins, 

Tho.  Eggelston,  Robart  Hayward, 

Josias  Eleswort,  Benaia  Holcomb, 

Edward  Elmor,  Joseph  Loomys, 

Mr.  Josep  Fitch,  John  Loomys, 

Thomas  Ford,  Thomas  Loomys, 

Walter  Fylar,  Samuell  Loomys, 

William  Filly,  Nathanell  Loomys, 

William  Fish,  Samuell  Marshall, 
Decon[Wm.]Gaylar,  John  Madesly, 

Walter  Gaylar,  Dec.John  Moore  SV. 

Samuel  Gaylar,  John  Moore,  Jun., 

John  Gaylar,  Simon  Milles, 
Jonath.Gillet,Sen'r.,  John  Mosses, 

Nathan  Gillet,  William  Morton, 
Jonathan  Gillet,  Jr.,  Mr.  Benj.  Newbery, 

Cornelus  Gillet,  John  Owen, 

Josep  Gillet,  John  Osbon,  Sen'r., 

Jacob  Gibbes,  Mr.  Will.  Phelps,  S'r., 

Samuel  Gibbes,  William Phelps,  Jun., 

Mathew  Grant,  Timothy  Phelps, 

Samuel  Grant,  Georg  Phelps, 

Tahan  Grant,  I  sack  Phelps, 

John  Grant,  Abra  :    Phelps, 

George  Griswold,  Houmfry  Pinne, 

Danell  Haydon,  Nathanell  Pinne, 

John  Hosford,  Georg  Phillups, 


106  'The  Freemen  of  1669. 

Eltvved  Pomery,  John  Stilles,  Mr.  John  Warham, 

Nicolas  Palmer,  Thomas  Stouton,  Mr.H.Wolcott,  Sen,, 

Timothy  Palmer,  John  Strong,  HeneryWolcottJun., 

Abraham  Randall,  Return  Strong,  Simon  Wolcott, 

John  Rockwell,  Stephen  Taylar,  Mr.  John  Witchfield, 

Samuel  Rockwell,  John  Tery,  Robert  Watson, 

Thomas  Rowly,  William  Trail,  John  Williams, 

Nicolas  Senchon,  Timothy  Trail,  Nathan  Winchell, 

Henry  Stilles,  Owen  Tudor,  Jonathan  Winchell. 
Richard  Vore,  113* 

These  are  stated  inhabitants  of  Masaccv}* 
and  haue  been  free  men  for  Windsor. 

Thomas  Barber,  Joshua  Holcom,      John  Pettebon, 

John  Cass,  Thomas  Maskell,    Joseph  Skinner, 

Samuel  Filly,  Luk  Hill,  Peter  Buell, 

John  Griffen,  Samuel  Pinne,  13 

Micall  Houmfery,  Joseph  Phelps. 

This  is  a  true  list  as  neer  as  we  could  com 
at,  and  be  informed  : 

John  Moore,  Samuel  Marshall, 

Mathew  Grant,  Return  Strong.^" 

It  will  be  eminently  proper,  in  accordance 
with  the  plan  which  the  author  has  laid  down 
for  himself,  in  the  preparation  of  this  work,  to 
present  here  some  notices  of  the  descendants  of 
those  pioneers  who  came  to  Windsor,  Connec- 

*  True  number  112,  an  error  of  one  in  the  list  as  given  in 
Conn.  Col.  Rec. 

f  Afterwards,  Simsbury. 

j  The  selectmen  of  the  town.  From  Conn.  Col.  Rec.  1665, 
1677,  by  Hon.  J.  H.  Trumbull,  p.  519.  The  descendants  of 
the  above  pioneers,  should  consult  for  further  information  in 
reference  to  their  ancestors, — The  History  and  Genealogies  of 
Ancient  Windsor,  by  Henry  R.  Stites,  M.  D.,  Brooklyn,  New  York. 


'The  Windsor  Descendants.  107 

ticut,  either  in  company  with  Matthew  Grant} 
or  soon  after  his  arrival,  and  were  associated  with 
him  in  laying  the  foundations  of  a  colony  in 
the  wilderness.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to 
give  full  notices  of  all  these  families,  and  the 
author  will,  therefore,  content  himself  with 
some  brief  mention  of  those  with  whose  histo- 
ry he  is  best  acquainted. 

GOVERNOR  CLARK  BISSELL,  was  a  descendant 
in  the  sixth  generation  from  the  pioneer  John 
Bissell,  who  is  supposed  to  have  come  to  Wind- 
sor about  1640. 

JOSIAS  ELLSWORTH,  was  the  son  of  John 
Ellsworth  the  pioneer  at  Windsor,  in  1646. 
The  distinguished  Chief  Justice  Ellsworth  was 
a  descendant,  in  the  fourth  generation,  from 
Josiah  Ellsworth.  Oliver  Ellsworth  entered 
Yale  College,  as  a  student,  in  1762,  but,  after 
passing  three  years  at  that  institution,  he  joined 
the  college  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  where  he 
graduated.  He  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of 
the  law  in  1771,  and  soon  gave  evidence  of  great 
promise.  Rising  through  different  degrees  of 
preferment,  in  March  1796,  he  was  appointed 
the  successor  of  the  late  Hon.  John  Jay,  as 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Dwight  says  of  the  subject 
of  our  sketch  :  "  Mr.  Ellsworth  was  formed 
to  be  a  great  man.  His  person  was  tall,  dig- 


io8  I'he  Windsor  Descendants. 

nified  and  commanding;  and  his  manners, 
though  wholly  destitute  of  haughtiness  and 
arrogance,  were  such  as  irresistibly  to  excite  in 
others,  whenever  he  was  present  the  sense  of  in- 
feriority. His  very  attitude  inspired  awe.  His 
imagination  was  uncommonly  vivid ;  his  wit 
brilliant  and  piercing ;  his  logical  powers  very 
great,  and  his  comprehension  fitted  for  capa- 
cious views  and  vast  designs.  *  *  *  *  Uni- 
versally, his  eloquence  strongly  resembled  that 
of  Demosthenes ;  grave,  forcible,  and  inclined 
to  severity.  In  the  numerous  public  stations 
which  he  filled,  during  a  period  of  more  than 
thirty  years,  he  regularly  rose  to  the  first  rank 
of  reputation — and  in  every  assembly,  public 
and  private,  in  which  he  appeared,  after  he  had 
fairly  entered  public  life,  there  was  probably  no 
man,  when  Washington  was  not  present,  who 
would  be  more  readily  acknowledged  to  hold 
the  first  character." 

The  monument  erected  to  his  memory  in 
the  ancient  burying-ground  at  Windsor,  bears 
the  following  inscription : 

"In  memory  of  OLIVER  ELLSWORTH,  LL.D., 
an  assistant  in  the  Council,  and  a  Judge  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Connecti- 
cut. A  member  of  the  Convention  which 
formed,  and  of  the  State  Convention  which 
adopted  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 


'The  Windsor  Descendants.  109 

Senator  and  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States, 
om;  of  the  Envoys  Extraordinary  and  Minis- 
ters Plenipotentiary  who  made  the  Convention 
of  1800  between  the  United  States  and  the 
French  Republic. 

"  Amiable  and  exemplary  in  all  the  relations 
of  domestic,  social  and  Christian  character,  per- 
manently useful  in  all  the  offices  he  sustained, 
whose  great  talents,  under  the  guidance  of  in- 
flexible integrity,  consummate  wisdom  and  en- 
lightened zeal,  placed  him  among  the  first  of 
the  illustrious  Statesmen  who  achieved  the  In- 
dependence and  established  the  American  Re- 
public. Born  at  Windsor,  April  29,  1745, 
and  died  Nov.  26,  1807." 

Oliver  E.  Wood,  Esq.,  of  New  York 
City,  is  a  grandson  of  the  late  Chief  Justice 
Ellsworth.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph  Wood, 
Esq.,  and  Frances  Ellsworth  of  Windsor. 
Their  children  who  are  now  living  are  Frances 
Wolcott  Cowles,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Sylvester 
Cowles  of  Gowanda,  New  York,  Oliver  Ells- 
worth Wood  of  New  York,  Rev.  George 
Ingersoll  Wood  of  Ellington,  Connecticut, 
Delia  Williams  Lyman,  wife  of  Prof.  S.  C. 
Lyman  of  Yale  College,  and  William  Cowper 
Wood  of  Joliet,  Illinois. 

JANCES  ENO,  settled  in  Windsor,  in  1646, 
and  his  descendants  have  always  held  a  distin- 


no  'The  Windsor  Descendants. 

• 

guished  position  in  the  local  and  family  history 
of  the  town.  The  records  give  us  no  informa- 
tion as  to  the  part  of  England  from  which  he 
came,  but  that  he  enjoyed  a  good  social  posi- 
tion among  the  early  pioneers  is  shown  from 
the  fact  that  after  the  decease  of  his  first  wife, 
Anna  Bidwell,  and  afterwards,  of  his  second 
wife,  he  married  into  excellent  families.  His 
daughter  married,  also,  Samuel  Phelps,  a  grand- 
son of  the  venerable  William  Phelps,  who  was 
from  one  of  the  best  families  of  England.  He 
possessed  a  good  estate,  for  those  times,  his 
name  being  recorded  among  "  those  having  a 
family,  a  horse  [and]  two  oxen,"  the  second  of 
the  five  classes  of  tax-payers  in  the  list  which  is 
given  in  the  old  Book  of  Rates.  He  seems  to 
have  been  of  an  enterprising  spirit,  and  was 
largely  engaged  in  the  purchase  of  real  estate. 
In  April,  1666,  James  Eno  and  John  Moses, 
acting  as  agents  for  the  town  of  Windsor, 
bought  from  Nassahegan,  sachem  of  Poquon- 
noc,  a  tract  of  twenty-eight  thousand  acres,  for 
which  service  the  town  granted  him  lands 
known  as  Tilton's  Marsh,  situated  under  the 
Simsbury  mountains. 

James  Eno  was  a  member  of  the  churcji  of 
England,  and  was  therefore,  not  in  harmony, 
in  regard  to  his  religious  belief,  with  the  puri- 
tan founders  of  Windsor.  In  1664,  he  united 


I'he  Windsor  Descendants.  in 

with  six  other  settlers  in  presenting  a  petition 
to  the  court  asking  that  the  churches  might  be 

O  O 

required  to  grant  baptism  for  their  children 
and  admission  to  church  privileges.  The  sign- 
ers of  the  petition  were  the  following  very  re- 
spectable residents  at  Hartford  and  Windsor  : 
William  Pitkin,  of  Hartford,  Michael  Hum- 
phreys, of  Windsor,  John  Stedman,  of  Hart- 
ford, James  Eno,  of  Windsor,  Robert  Reeve, 
John  Moses,  of  Windsor,  and  Jonas  Westover 
of  Windsor.  We  are  not  able  to  give  a  full 
history  of  this  affair,  but  as  the  families  of  Eno, 
Humphreys,  Moses,  and  Westover  removed 
afterwards  to  Simsbury,  probably  "for  con 
science'  sake,"  we  can  readily  discover  in  the 
history  of  this  controversy  the  operation  of 
causes  which  led  to  the  organization,  in  1740, 
of  the  oldest  Episcopal  church  in  Connecticut, 
St.  Andrew's  Parish  of  Simsbury. 

There  was  a  James  Eno  among  the  eleven 
petitioners,  in  1705,  for  a  grant  of  land  for  their 
services  at  the  swamp  fight  in  King  Philip's 
war.  They  described  themselves  as  the  sole 
survivors  of  this  engagement.  This  was,  proba- 
bly, James  Eno,  second,  son  of  the  pioneer.  It 
is  worthy  of  mention,  also,  in  connection  with 
the  early  history  of  this  family,  and  as  evidence 
in  regard  to  its  excellent  social  position,  that 
Governor  Roger  Wolcott,  who  was  of  a  highly 


ii2  'The  Windsor  Descendants. 

aristocratic  family  in  England,  and  became  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  Colony, 
was  brought  up  as  a  member  of  the  household 
of  "  old  Mr.  Eno  "  of  Windsor.  This  was  also 
probably,  James  Eno,  second,  who  was  then 
about  50  years  of  age: 

David  Eno,  son  of  James  Eno,  second,  of 
Windsor,  settled  at  Hopmeadow,  in  Simsbury- 
He  was  born  Aug.  12,  1702,  and  died  in  the 
campaign  to  Cape  Breton,  at  the  conquest  of 
that  island,  in  1745. 

General  Roger  Eno  was  a  lieutenant-colonel 
in  Arnold's  expedition  against  Quebec,  in  1775, 
and  commanded  a  regiment  which  was  raised  in 
1777,  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  stationed  on 
Long  Island  Sound;  and  other  soldiers  in  the 
Revolution,  of  this  family,  were  James  Eno, 
Erasmus  Eno,  Abijah  Eno,  and  James  Eno. 
Alexander  Phelps,  the  father  of  John  J.  Phelps, 
Esq.,  of  New  York  City,  married  Elizabeth 
Eno,  daughter  of  Captain  Jonathan  Eno. 

The  line  of  descent  of  Amos  R.  Eno,  Esq., 
of  New  York  City,  from  the  Windsor  pioneer, 
is  as  follows  :  (i)  James  Eno,  m.  Anna  Bid  well, 
Elizabeth  Holcomb,  Hester  Eggleston;  (2) 
James,  b.  1651,  m.  Abigail  Bissell;  (3)  David, 
b.  1702,  m.  Mary  Gillett ;  (4)  Capt.  Jonathan,  b. 
1738,  m.  Mary  Hart;  (5)  Salmon,  b.  1779,  m. 
Mary  Richards  ;  (6)  Amos  Richards  Eno. 


Windsor  Descendants.  113 

Amos  R.  Eno,  Esq.,  originated  the  project 
which  resulted  in  raising  among  the  gentlemen 
of  New  York  City,  the  sum  of  $100,000  as  a 
gift  to  General  Grant,  and  as  a  substantial  testi- 
monial of  their  appreciation  of  his  distinguished 
services  in  the  war  for  the  Union. 

JOHN  FITCH,  the  inventor  of  steamboats,  was 
born  Jan.  2i,  1743,  at  East  Windsor,  Connecti- 
cut, and  was  a  great  grandson  of  Joseph  Fitch, 
the  Windsor  pioneer.  His  first  steamboat,  the 
Perseverance,  ran  on  the  waters  of  the  Delaware 
in  1788  and  '89.  In  1817,  a  committee  of  the 
New  York  Legislature  reported  that  "  The  boats 
of  Livingston  and  Fulton  were,  in  substance, 
the  invention  patented  to  John  Fitch  in  1791, 
and  that  Fitch,  during  the  time  of  his  patent, 
had  the  exclusive  right  to  use  the  same  in  the 
United  States."  Fitch,  however,  met  with  many 
discouragements,  and  derived  no  advantages  from 
his  invention.  He  died  in  poverty,  in  1798, 
near  Bardstown,  Kentucky. 

EDWAED  GEISWOLD  and  Matthew  Griswold 
were  brothers  from  a  family  of  excellent  social 
position  in  Kenilworth,  Warwickshire,  England. 
Edward  Griswold  removed  from  Windsor  to 
Killingworth,  which  name  is  a  corruption  of 
Kenilworth,  and  was,  probably,  selected  by  him 
in  honor  of  his  former  home  in  England.  His 
son,  Francis  Griswold,  settled  in  Norwich,  Con- 


H4  The  Windsor  Descendants. 

necticut,  and  his  son  George  Griswold,  remained 
in  Poquonnoc,  Windsor.  George  Griswold  was 
the  ancestor  of  Bishop  Alexander  Viets  Gris- 
wold. 

Matthew  Griswold,  brother  of  Edward  Gris- 
wold, settled  in  Lyme,  Connecticut,"  and  was 
the  ancestor  of  Governors  Matthew  Griswold 
and  Roger  Griswold.  George  Griswold,  Esq., 
and  Nathaniel  L.  Griswold,  Esq.,  well  known 
merchants  of  New  York  City,  are  descendants 
from  Matthew  Griswold. 

Almon  W.  Griswold,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  is 
a  descendant  from  Edward  Griswold,  who  settled 
at  Killingworth,  Connecticut. 

Major  General  Orlando  B.  Wilcox  and  Eben 
N.  Wilcox,  Esq.,  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  are  de- 
scendants from  Edward  Griswold.  George  B. 
Granniss,  Esq.,  of  New  York  City,  is  also 
descended  from  Edward  Griswold. 

WILLIAM  HAYDEN  was  of  a  family  of  the 
first  respectability  in  England.  He  came  to 
Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  in  1630,  was  made  a 
freeman  there  in  1634,  and  settled  afterwards  at 
Hartford,  Connecticut.  He  was  one  of  the  sol- 
diers enlisted  at  Hartford  by  Captain  John  Mason 
of  Windsor,  for  the  Pequot  war  in  1637,  and 

— Eliphalet  Gregory  was  at  Windsor  in  1641.  He  settled, 
afterwards,  with  the  earliest  pioneers,  at  Norwalk,  Connecticut. 
The  Hon.  Dudley  S.  Gregory,  of  Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  is  descen- 
ded from  Eliphalet  Gregory. 


The  Windsor  Descendants.  115 

distinguished  himself  at  the  assault  on  the  Pequot 
fort.  In  his  history  of  the  war,  after  giving  an 
account  of  their  march  and  arrival  at  the  fort, 
the  Captain  says :  "  Lieutenant  Seeley  endeavored 
to  enter ;  but  being  somewhat  cumbred,  stepped 
back  and  pulled  out  the  Bushes  and  so  entered, 
and  with  him  about  sixteen  Men :  We  had  for- 
merly concluded  to  destroy  them  by  the  sword 
and  save  the  Plunder. 

"  Whereupon  Captain  Mason  seeing  no  Indi- 
ans, entered  a  Wigwam,  where  he  was  beset  with 
many  Indians,  waiting  all  opportunities  to  lay 
hands  on  him,  but  could  not  prevail.  At  length 
William  Hey  don  >  espying  the  Breach  in  the  Wig- 
wam, supposing  some  English  might  be  there, 
entered ;  but  in  his  Entrance  fell  over  a  dead 
Indian;  but  speedily  recovering  himself,  the 
Indians  some  fled,  others  crept  under  their  Beds," 
etc. 

A  sword  is  now  preserved  in  the  collection  of 
the  Historical  Society  at  Hartford,  which  is  said 
to  have  been  carried  by  William  Hayden  on 
this  occasion.  This  sword  was  formerly  owned 
by  Thomas  Hayden  of  Windsor,  who  inherited 
it  with  a  tradition  that  in  the  midst  of  the  fight 
an  Indian,  having  drawn  "  an  arrow  to  its  head," 
William  Hayden  cut  the  bowstring  and  saved 
Captain  Mason's  life.  This  Thomas  Hayden 
was  fourteen  years  old  when  his  grandfather 


1 1 6  I'he  Windsor  Descendants. 

Daniel  died,  and  Daniel  had  seen  his  grandfather 
William  the  pioneer.  TrumbulPs  "History  of 
Connecticut  gives  this  honor  to  Sergeant  Davis, 
but  Captain  Mason's  narrative  proves  that  Davis 
did  not  enter  the  fort. 

William  Hayden  received  land  in  the  first 
distribution  at  Hartford,  in  1639,  and  sold  the 
same  in  1642-3,  at  which  time  he  purchased  the 
homestead  at  Windsor  which  was  deeded  by 
him  to  his  son  Daniel  in  1669.  William  Hay- 
den  went  with  the  first  settlers  to  Fairfield  in 
1664,  and  thence,  the  next  year,  with  the  first 
settlers  to  Homonossett  now  Clinton.  He  was  a 
deputy  in  the  general  court  in  1667.  He  died 
Sept.  27,  1669. 

Lieutenant  Daniel  Hayden,  of  Windsor,  was 
a  trooper  in  King  Philip's  war.  Nathaniel 
Hayden  was  a  soldier  in  the  expedition  against 
the  "Spanish  West  Indies,"  in  1740.  Ensign 
Nathaniel  Hayden  served  also  in  the  French  and 
Indian  war,  and  in  the  Revolution  Hezekiah 
Hayden,  the  brother  of  the  grandfather  of  Na- 
thaniel Hayden,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  enlisted 
early,  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Long 
Island,  was  for  a  time  confined  in  the  old  Jersey 
Prison  Ship,  and,  finally,  died  of  starvation, 
probably  in  the  old  Church  in  New  York.  Lieu- 
tenant Levi  Hayden,  the  grandfather  of  Mr. 
Nathaniel  Hayden,  served  in  a  troop  of  cavalry 


1"he  Windsor  Descendants.  117 

under  Putnam.  Captain  Nathaniel  Hayden, 
who  commanded  the  Lexington  "  alarm  party  " 
from  Windsor,  Lieutenant  Thomas  Hayden, 
Ezra  Hayden,  Oliver  Hayden,  and  Isaac  Hay- 
den were  also  soldiers  in  the  revolution. 

Samuel  Hayden,  Jr.,  built,  in  1738,  the  house 
now  occupied  by  the  family  of  the  late  Levi 
Hayden.  Captain  Nathaniel  Hayden  built  the 
house  now  occupied  by  his  grandson,  Samuel 
B.  Hayden. 

Nathaniel  Hayden,  Esq.,  of  New  York, 
President  of  the  Chatham  Bank,  is  in  the  follow- 
ing line  from  the  pioneer:  (i)  William  Hay- 
den; (2)  Lieut.  Daniel,  b.  1640,  m.  Hannah 
Wilcoxsen;  (3)  Samuel,  b.  1677-8,  rn.  Anna 
Holcombe;  (4)  Ensign  Nathaniel,  b.  1709,  m. 
Marvin  Gaylord ;  (5)  Lieut.  Levi,  b.  1747,10. 
Mary  Strong;  (6)  Levi,  b.  1773,  m.  Wealthy 
Haskell;  (7)  Nathaniel  Hayden.  Mr.  Hay- 
den is  descended  on  his  mother's  side  from  Gov- 
ernor Roger  Wolcott. 

Jabez  Haskell  Hayden,  Esq.,  of  Windsor 
Locks,  to  whose  investigations  this  work  owes 
much  of  its  interest,  is  a  brother  of  Nathaniel 
Hayden,  Esq.  The  other  brothers  are  Oliver 
Hayden  of  East  Granby,  the  late  Captain 
Samuel  S.  Hayden,  H.  Sidney  Hayden  of 
Windsor,  Augustus  Henry  Hayden  of  Charles- 
ton, S.  C.,  and  Levi  Gaylord  Hayden  of  Wind- 
sor. 


n8  'The  Windsor  Descendants. 

Captain  Samuel  S.  Hayden  assisted,  with 
great  zeal,  in  raising  a  company  for  the  war,  in 
1862,  at  Windsor  Locks,  and,  on  its  organiza- 
tion, he  was  appointed  its  captain.  His  regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  Louisiana,  and  was  engaged 
in  a  battle  April  14,  1863,  at  Irish  Bend.  An 
order  to  retreat,  which  had  been  given,  was  not 
heard  by  Captain  Hayden,  and  being  sur- 
rounded by  the  enemy,  it  is  supposed  that  he 
was  clubbed  to  death  with  a  musket.  He  sus- 
tained a  Christian  character  through  all  his  army 
life.  He  perished  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age. 
His  youngest  brother  succeeded  in  recovering 
his  remains,  which  now  rest  with  his  ancestors  in 
the  old  bury  ing-ground  at  Windsor. 

THOMAS  HOLCOMBE,  the  pioneer  of  this  name, 
was  born  in  1601,  in  Hole,  Devonshire,  England. 
He  came  to  Windsor  in  1635.  William  Fred- 
eric Holcombe,  M.D.,  of  New  York  City  is 
descended  from  the  Windsor  pioneer  in  the  fol- 
lowing line : — (i)  Thomas  Holcombe  ;  (2) 
Nathaniel  1st,  b.  Nov.  4,  1648,  m.  1670,  Mary 
Bliss;  (3)  Nathaniel  2d,  b.  1673,  m-  Martha 
Buell,  1694;  (4)  David,  b.  about  1698,  m. 
Mehitable  Buttolph  or  Buttles,  about  1721  ; 
(.5)  Reuben,  b.  1725,  m.  Susannah  Hayes} 
about  1750;  (6)  Nahum,  b.  May  7,  1763,  m 
Rebeccah  Moore,  1792  ;  (7)  Augustine,  b. 
Jan.  31,  1797,  m.  Lucy  Bush,  June  i,  1825  ; 
(8)  William  Frederic. 


Windsor  Descendants. 


119 


MR.  JOSEPH  LOOMIS  was  of  an  excellent 
family  in  England.  He  has  the  title  of  res- 
pect "  Master,'  which  was  indicative  of  good 
social  position,  prefixed  to  his  name  in  the 
ancient  records.  He  came  from  Bristol,  Eng- 

'  D 

land,  to  Windsor,  about  1639,  or  perhaps 
earlier.  He  died  in  1658,  therefore  the  names 
of  his  sons,  only,  appear  in  the  list  of  freemen 
for  1669.  His  will,  and  the  inventory  of  his 
estate  was  presented  in  court,  in  Hartford, 
Dec.  2,  1658.  One  item  reads, — "In  plate, 
,£16.  07  s,"  and,  referring  to  an  estate  in  Eng- 
land from  which  he  received  some  kind  of  an 
income,  mention  is  made  of  "The  rates  of 
whole  year  to  come."  It  is  said  that  there  was 
an  estate  in  England,  many  years  ago,  without  a 
representative,  to  which  the  members  of  this 
family  were  heirs.  The  following  extract  from 
a  letter  which  was  written  by  W.  Lyngwood, 
a  barrister,  to  "  Cousin  Clarke,"  and  dated 
"  Braintre  (Co.  Essex,  Eng.)  March  20, 1651," 
will  be  found  interesting  as  showing  the  social 
relations  of  Mr.  Joseph  Loomis. 

"  With  my  love  to  you,  my  cosen  Loomis, 
cosen  Culliwicke  &  the  rest  of  my  cosens  & 
friends  there  with  you,  I  rest 

Yr.  very  loving  Cosen, 

W.  LYNGWOOD." 

It  has  been  already  mentioned,  in  a  former 


I2O  'The  Windsor  Descendants. 

part  of  this  work,  that  the  Loomis  homestead 
is  the  oldest  in  Windsor,  which  is  still  in  the 
possession  of  the  same  family,  and  it  is  certain 
that  Mr.  Joseph  Loomis  arrived  with  the 
earliest  party,  or  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Huit,  in 
1639,  as  this  place,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
desirable  in  Windsor,  would  have  been  selected 
immediately  by  others.  It  is  situated  at  the 
northern  end  of  what  is  called  the  island? 
overlooking  the  Farmington  river,  and  com- 
manding an  extensive  view  of  the  surrounding 
country, — including  the  Connecticut  valley, 
the  Windsor  meadows,  and  the  mountains  in 
the  east.  No  finer  location  could  have  been 
found  by  Mr.  Loomis  in  Windsor ;  and  among 
his  nearest  neighbors  were  Henry  Wolcott, 
George  Phelps,  and  Matthew  Allyn,  who  we~e 
of  the  very  best  of  the  pioneer  families. 

Deacon  John  Loomis,  the  oldest  son  of 
Mr.  Joseph  Loomis,  was  associated  with  Mat- 
thew Grant,  and  others,  in  1672,  in  running 
the  boundary  line  between  Windsor  and 
Simsbury.  He  cooperated,  also,  with  Mat- 
thew Grant  in  sustaining  the  services  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Warham  in  Windsor,  in  opposition 
to  the  party  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Woodbridge. 
Nathaniel  and  Thomas  Loomis,  two  other 
sons  of  Mr.  Joseph  Loomis,  were  in  Captain 
Mason's  first  troop  of  horse.  Joseph  and 


I'he  Windsor  Descendants.  ill 

Nathaniel  Loomis  were  also  troopers  in  King 
Philip's  war. 

In  the  French  and  Indian  war,  we  find  the 
names  of  the  following  soldiers  who  were  of 
this  family,  Ezra  Loomis,  (died  at  Louis- 
berg)  Eliphalet  Loomis,  Abel  Loomis,  (died) 
John  Loomis,  (died)  and  Ebenezer  Loomis, 
and  in  the  revolution  were  Stephen  Loomis, 
Jr.,  George  Loomis,  Jonathan  Loomis,  Elipha- 
let Loomis,  (died  1776,)  Gideon  Loomis,  and 
Watson  Loomis.  Elijah  Loomis  and  Remem- 
brance Loomis,  of  Litchfield  county,  who 
were,  probably,  of  this  family,  were  taken 
prisoners  at  Harlem  Heights,  and  confined  on 
board  the  prison  ships,  or  in  the  prison  houses 
of  New  York.  Elijah  Loomis  died  in  prison 
and  Remembrance  Loomis,  having  been  ex- 
changed, died  on  his  way  home. 

Hezekiah  Bradley  Loomis,  Esq.,  of  New 
York  City,  is  descended  from  the  pioneer  of 
this  family  in  the  following  line : — (l)  Mr. 
Joseph  Loomis ;  (2)  Deacon  John  Loomis, 
m.  Elizabeth  Scot;  (3)  Mr.  Timothy 
Loomis,  b.  1661,  m.  Rebecca  Porter;  (4) 
Odiah  Loomis,  b.  1705,  m.  Jane  Allyn  ;  (5) 
Ozias  Loomis,  b.  1745,  m.  Sarah  Roberts; 
(6)  James  Loomis,  b.  1779,  m.  Abigail  Sher- 
wood Chaffee,  (7)  Hezekiah  Bradley  Loomis. 
The  name  Rebecca  Porter  will  be  noticed  in 
Q 


122  'The  Windsor  Descendants. 

the  third  generation  of  this  lineage.  She  was 
a  grand-daughter  of  the  pioneer  John  Porter, 
whose  daughter  Mary  married  Samuel  Grant, 
son  of  Matthew  Grant. 

Besides  Hezekiah  B.  Loomis,  Esq.,  of 
New  York,  the  other  sons  of  the  late  Mr. 
James  Loomis  of  Windsor,  who  are  now  liv- 
ing are  James  ChafFee  Loomis,  Esq.,  of 
Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  the  eldest,  Osbert 
Burr  Loomis,  Esq.,  of  Yonkers,  New  York, 
and  Colonel  John  Mason  Loomis  of  Chicago, 
Illinois,  who  entered  the  service  as  colonel  of 
the  26th  Regiment  of  Illinois  Infantry  in  the 
late  war  for  the  Union. 

Colonel  Loomis  sacrificed  brilliant  pros- 
pects in  business  in  accepting  this  command, 
considering  it  to  be  his  first  duty  to  respond 
to  the  call  of  his  country  in  her  hour  of  need. 
He  was  a  brave  and  gallant  officer  and  served 
with  great  distinction  as  a  brigade  commander, 
under  both  General  Grant  and  General  Sher- 
man. He  was  at  the  battles  of  Island  No.  10, 
Madrid,  Corinth,  Vicksburg,  Mission  Ridge 
or  Chattanooga,  and  in  many  other  important 
actions. 

Horatio  Gates  Loomis,  Esq.,  of  Chicago, 
Illinois,  is  the  grandson  of  Phineas  Loomis* 

*  As  this  family  left  Windsor  at  an  early  period,  and  there 
is  no  published  record  of  them,  it  may  be  interesting  to  fur- 


The  Windsor  Descendants.  123 

of  Windsor,  who  removed,  previous  to  the  rev- 
olution, first  to  Sheffield,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  married  Diedamia  Holcombe,  who 
was  a  descendant  from  the  pioneer  of  this  name 
at  Windsor.  Phineas  Loomis  removed  in 
1.790,  from  Sheffield,  to  Burlington,  Vermont, 
with  a  family  of  six  children.  He  commenced 
building  his  house  in  Burlington  the  same  year, 
which  house  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  E.  C. 
Loomis,  a  cousin  of  Horatio  G.  Loomis,  Esq., 
and  has  been  in  the  family  since  it  was  built — a 
period  of  seventy-nine  years. 

Luther  Loomis,  son  of  Phineas  Loomis, 
married  Sept.  3,  1809,  Harriet  Bradley,  who 
was  born  in  Sunderland,  Vermont.  Their  chil- 

nish  some  account  of  them  for  the  use  of  future  geneal- 
ogists : 

Phineas  Loomis  was  born  March  15,  1748,  (O.  S.)  Windsor, 
Connecticut.  Diedamia  Holcombe  was  born  June  21,  1754, 
at  Simsbury,  Connecticut.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Jonathan 
Holcombe,  who  was  born  in  Granby,  or  Simsbury,  Connecti- 
cut, married  Abigail  Higley,and  removed  to  Sheffield,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  died  May  9,  1790.  This  Jonathan  Holcombe 
was  the  son  of  Jonathan,  who  was  the  son  of  Jonathan,  the 
son  of  Nathaniel,  (Stiles1  Windsor,  p.  665).  Phineas 
Loomis  and  Diedamia  Holcombe  were  married  at  Sheffield, 
March  24,  1774.  He  died  at  Burlington,  Vermont,  March 
26,  1810,  and  she  also  died  at  Burlington,  Feb.  26,  1831. 
Their  children  were:  Horace  Loomis,  b.  Jan.  15,  1775,  c'. 
April  7,  1865,  at  Burlington  ;  Olivia  Loomis,  b.  March  18,  1776, 
d.  Jan.  3,  1830,  at  Burlington  ;  Simeon  Loomis,  b.  April  8, 
1 777)  d.  Jan.  12,  1779,  at  Sheffield;  Luther  Loomis,  b.  Nov. 
1 8,  1778,  d.  April  23,  1779,  at  Sheffield  ;  Amanda  Loomis,  b. 
Feb.  ir,  1780,  d.  July  3,  1837,  at  Naperville,  Ills;  Luther 
Loomis,  b.  June  8,  1781,  d.  June  22,  1844,  at  Burlington  ;  Wel- 
thyan  Loomis,  b.  June  19,  1783,  died  at  Chicago;  Warren 
Loomis,  b.  Aug.  27,  1788,  d.  Aug.  9,  1827  at  Burlington. 
(From  Family  Records.) 


124  ^je  Windsor  Descendants. 

dren  are,  Maria  Loomis,  b.  May  26,  1810, 
Burlington;  Mary  Loomis,  b.  May  13,  1812, 
d.  Dec.  1834;  Horatio  Gates  Loomis,  b.  Oct. 
23,  1814,  Chicago,  111.  ;  Henry  Loomis,  b. 
Aug.  31,  1818,  Burlington. 

Mr.  H.  G.  Loomis  is  descended  from  the 
pioneer  Mr.  Joseph  Loomis,  in  the  following 
line:  (i)  Mr.  Joseph  Loomis;  (2)  Deacon 
John,  m.  Elizabeth  Scot;  (3)  David,  b.  1665; 
(4)  Eliakim,  b.  1701,  m.  Mary  Loomis ;  (5) 
Phineas,  b.  1748,  m.  Diedamia  Holcombe;  (6) 
Luther,  b.  1778,  m.  Harriet  Bradley  ;  (7)  Hora- 
tio Gates  Loomis. 

CAPTAIN  SAMUEL  MARSHALL  had  a  lot  in  the 
palizado.  He  was  killed  in  King  Philip's  war 
at  the  attack  on  the  Narragansett  fort,  Eec. 
19,  1675. 

The  Hon.  John  Milton  Niles,  formerly 
United  States  Senator,  from  Connecticut,  was 
the  son  of  Moses  Niles  of  Windsor  and  Na- 
omi Marshall,  and  was  a  descendant  in  the  sixth 
generation  from  Captain  Samuel  Marshall. 

The  Hon.  Elisha  Marshall  Pease,  of  Austin, 
Texas,  Governor  of  Texas,  is  the  son  of  the 
late  Lorrain  T.  Pease,  of  Enfield,  and  Sarah 
Marshall,  of  Windsor,  and  is  a  descendant  in 
the  seventh  generation  from  Captain  Samuel 
Marshall.  Major  General  John  C.  Robinson, 
United  States  army,  married  Sarah  Maria 


'The  Windsor  Descendants.  125 

Pease,  a  sister  of  Governor  Pease.  General 
Robinson  distinguished  himself,  at  the  incep- 
tion of  the  rebellion,  by  the  heroic  defence  of 
Fort  McHenry,  which  saved  to  the  Union  the 
state  of  Maryland,  and,  probably,  the  city  of 
Washington. 

Edward  Chauncey  Marshall,  of  New  York 
City,  and  Brevet  Brigadier  General  Elisha  Gay- 
lord  Marshall,  of  the  United  States  army,  are 
descended  from  the  Windsor  pioneer  in  the  fol- 
lowing line  :  (i)  Captain  Samuel  Marshall,  m. 
Mary  Wilton  ;  (2)  David,  b.  1661,  m.  Abigail 
Phelps  ;  (3)  David,  b.  1692,  m.  Sarah  Phelps  ; 
(4)  David,  b.  1728,  m.  Naomi  Griswold ;  (5) 
Capt.  Elihu,  b.  1765,  m.  Sabrina  Griswold; 
(6)  Chauncey,  b.  1794,  m.  Mary  Hotchkiss 
Ward ;  (7)  Edward  Chauncey  and  Brevet  Brig. 
Gen.  Elisha  Gaylord  Marshall. 

The  Rev.  SAMUEL  MATHER,  came  to  Wind- 
sor in  1684.  This  name  does  not  appear, 
therefore,  in  the  list  of  freemen  for  1669,  al- 
though no  family  has  had  a  more  honorable 
record  than  this  one,  in  the  subsequent  history 
of  the  town.  Timothy,  the  father  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Mather,  was  born  in  England,  was  a 
freeman  of  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,and  mar- 
ried, about  1650,  the  daughter  of  Maj.  Gen. 
Atherton  of  the  same  town.  The  Rev.  Rich- 
ard Mather,  the  grandfather  of  the  Rev.  Sam- 


126  rfhc  Windsor  Descendants. 

uel  Mather,  was  born  in  the  county  of  Lancas- 
ter, England,  had  studied  at  Oxford  University, 
and  had  succeeded  the  Rev.  Mr.  Warham  as 
the  pastor  of  the  church  in  Dorchester,  which 
position  was  filled  by  him  with  great  faithful- 
ness and  acceptability  during  a  period  of  thirty- 
three  years,  until  his  decease  in  1669.  It  is  a 
curious  coincidence  that  while  the  Rev.  Rich- 
ard Mather  was  the  successor  of  Mr.  Warham 
at  Dorchester,  his  grandson  was  also  a  succes- 
sor of  Mr.  Warham,  following  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Woodbridge  and  Chauncey  in  the  First  Congre- 
gational Church,  at  Windsor,  and  uniting  the 
two  societies. 

"  Descended  from  a  highly  respectable  and 
gifted  ancestry,  he  was  one,  and  by  no  means 
the  least,  of  a  circle  of  noble  men,  whose  va- 
ried talents  and  pious  lives,  have  rendered  the 
name  of  MATHER  distinguished  among  the 
families  of  New  England  even  to  the  present 
day."  "  Graduating  at  Harvard  College  in  1671 
he  went  first  to  Branford,  Connecticut.  From 
thence  he  was  called,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
to  Windsor,  where  the  powers  of  his  mind, 
the  amiability  of  his  character,  and  his  piety, 
speedily  won  the  esteem  and  love  of  his  peo- 
ple, and  composed  the  difficulties  which  existed 
among  them."*  He  married  the  daughter  of 

*  Stiles'  Windsor,  p.  192. 


27; e  Windsor  Descendants.  127 

the  Hon.  Robert  Treat,  of  Weathersfield,  who 
was  afterwards  Governor  of  the  colony  of  Con- 
necticut. He  published  but  one  work  of  which 
we  have  any  knowledge,  entitled  "  A  Death 
Faith  Anatomised"  printed  in  1697,  at  Boston, 
with  an  introduction  by  his  cousin  the  distin- 
guished Cotton  Mather,  author  of  the  Magnalia 
Americana. 

The  town  of  Windsor  was  represented  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Mather  at  that  venerable  assem- 
blage of  the  clergy  at  New  Haven,  in  1700, 
which  established  Yale  College.  Mr.  Mather  was 
a  member  of  the  first  board  of  Trustees,  which 
was  authorized,  in  1699,  to  found  a  college. 

The  church  records  which  are  still  preserved 
in  the  handwriting  of  this  worthy  pastor  of 
Windsor,  give  proof  of  his  great  earnestness 
in  the  work  of  saving  souls.  The  follow- 
ing extract  from  the  records  will  be  found  in- 
teresting: "1688.  Not  so  much  as  one  add- 
ed to  the  church  this  year — but  as  many  died 
out  of  it  as  were  added  the  year  before.  The 
good  Lord  awaken  and  humble  us."  The  Rev. 
Samuel  Mather  died,  after  a  peaceful  and  happy 
pastorate,  March  18,  1727-8. 

The  following  soldiers  of  the  revolution 
were  members  of  this  family  :  Sergt.  Elihu 
Mather,  Sergt.  Increase  Mather,  Samuel  Math- 
er, Dr.  Timothy  Mather,  John  Mather,  and 
Sergt.  Timothy  Mather. 


128  ^he  Windsor  Descendants. 

General  Frederick  Ellsworth  Mather, a  prom- 
inent lawyer  of  New  York  City,  is  descended 
from  the  Rev.  Samuel  Mather  in  the  following 
line:  (i)  Rev.  Samuel,  born,  1651, m.  Hannah 
Treat;  (2)  Dr.  Samuel,  b.  1677,  m.  Abigail 
Grant;  (3)  Nathaniel,  b.  1716,  m.  Elizabeth 
Allyn ;  (4)  Oliver,  b.  1 749,  m.  Jemima  Ells~ 
worth  ;  (5)  Ellsworth,  b.  1783,  m.  Laura  Wol- 
cott ;  (6)  Frederick  Ellsworth  Mather. 

Rev.  Oliver  Wolcott  Mather,  of  Windsor,  is 
the  only  brother  of  General  Frederick  E.  Mather. 

General  Mather's  grandmother  was  a  sister 
of  the  distinguished  Oliver  Ellsworth,  Chief- 
Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  General 
Mather's  great  great  grandmother  was  a  grand- 
daughter of  Matthew  Grant.  The  mother  of 
General  Mather,  Laura  Wolcott  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Doctor  Christopher  Wolcott,  and  a 
granddaughter  of  Doctor  Alexander  Wolcott, 
who  was  a  son  of  the  distinguished  Governor 
Roger  Wolcott. 

General  Mather  is  a  graduate  of  Yale  Col- 
lege of  the  class  of  1833.  He  was  commis- 
sioned a  General  of  brigade  in  the  New  York 
State  Militia,  under  Governor  Seward.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  assembly  of  the  New 
York  Legislature  in  1845. 

—The  ancestor  of  Joel  Munsell,  the  distinguished  historical 
publisher  at  Albany,  New  York,  came  into  Windsor  about 
thirty  years  after  the  list  of  freemen,  which  is  given  in  the 
text,  was  reported  to  the  General  Court. 


'The  Windsor  Descendants.  129 

Records  also  show  his  long  official  connec- 
tion with,  and  active  interest  in  the  public 
schools  and  different  charitable  institutions  in 
in  the  City  of  New  York. 

JOHN  OWEN  came  early  to  Windsor. 

The  Rev.  John  Jason  Owen,  D.D.,  de- 
ceased April  1 8,  1869,  and  Edward  Hezekiah 
Owen,  Esq.,  a  lawyer,  of  New  York  City,  are 
in  the  sixth  generation  from  John  Owen.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Owen  was  the  author  of  the  follow- 
ing valuable  works,  Commentaries  on  the  Gos- 
pels of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  John,  and  The 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  also  editions  of  Homer's 
Iliad,  Homer's  Odyssey,  Thucydides,  Xe- 
nophon's  Anabasis,  Xenophon's  Cyropaedia, 
etc. 

JOHN  PETTIBONE  was  admitted  a  freeman  of 
Windsor,  by  the  General  Court,  May  20,  1658. 
He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Bagot  Eggleston, 
Feb.  16,  1664.  He  removed  with  the  first 
settlers  in  1669,  to  Massacoe,  which  plantation 
was  incorporated  as  the  town  of  Simsbury,  May 
12,  1670,  He  died  at  Simsbury,  in  1713,  and 
his  wife  died  in  the  same  year. 

Colonel  Jonathan  Pettibone  of  the  third 
generation  was  several  years  ajustice  of  the  peace, 
and  a  representative.  He  was  commissioned  a 
colonel  of  one  of  the  Connecticut  regiments  with 
which  he  marched  in  August,  1776,  to  New 
c* 


130  ^he  Windsor  Descendants. 

York,  for  the  defence  of  the  city,  where  he  was 
attacked  with  a  malignant  disease  known  as 
the  camp  distemper.  He  reached  Rye,  New 
York,  on  his  way  home  where  he  died  Sept. 
26,  1776,  aged  66. 

The  line  of  descent  of  John  Owen  Petti- 
bone,  Esq.,  of  Weatogue,  in  Simsbury,  from 
the  pioneer  is  as  follows  :  (i)  John  Pettibone, 
m.  Sarah  Eggleston ;  (2)  Lieut  Samuel,  b. 
1672  m.  Judith  Shepard ;  (3)  Col.  Jonathan, 
b.  1710,  m.  Martha  Humphrey  ;  (4)  Col.  Jon- 
athan, b.  1741,  m.  Hannah  Owen  ;  (5)  John 
Owen  Pettibone,  b.  Oct.  22,  1787. 

Of  the  above  family  John  Owen  Pettibone, 
Esq.,  is  the  present  representative.  He  occu- 
pies the  domicile  erected  by  his  late  father, 
which  is  but  a  short  distance  from  the  dwelling 
erected  by  his  ancestor  John  Pettibone,  the 
pioneer,  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago,  which  is  still  tenanted,  and  of  which  he  is 
the  owner.  His  age  is  now  nearly  82  years. 
Mr.  Pettibone  has  contributed  much  valuable 
material  to  these  pages. 

MR.  WILLIAM  PHELPS  and  GEORGE  PHELPS, 
who  are  believed  to  have  been  brothers,  were 
of  an  ancient  and  honorable  family,  in  Staf- 
fordshire, England.  William  Phelps  is  men- 
tioned by  the  Dorchester  historians  among 
those  "  gentlemen  past  middle  life  with  adult 


I'he  Windsor  Descendants.  131 

families  and  good  estates,"*  who  embarked  at 
Plymouth,  England,  in  the  Mary  and  John, 
March  20,  1630,  and  settled  first  at  Dorches- 
ter, Massachusetts.  From  Dorchester,  he 
came  with  Mr.  Warham  and  Matthew  Grant,  in 
1635,  to  Windsor.  William  Phelps  and  Ro- 
ger Ludlow,  of  Windsor,  were  among  the  eight 
commissioners  appointed  by  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts  this  year  C£  to  govern  the  peo- 
ple at  Connecticut  for  the  space  of  a  year  next 
coming."  His  name  is  found  also  as  a  witness 
to  the  deed  of  transfer  of  the  lands  in  Wind- 
sor to  the  settlers  from  the  colony  of  New  Ply- 
mouth. Mr.  William  Phelps  was  foremost  in 
all  affairs  in  both  church  and  State  in  Windsor. 
No  one  of  the  early*  pioneers  was  more  highly 
respected  or  has  left  a  more  honorable  record. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  first  court  held  in 
Connecticut  in  1636.  He  was  also  a  member 
of  the  court  held  in  1637,  which  declared  war 
against  the  Pequots.  He  was  a  magistrate  from 
1638  to  1643.  -^e  was  t^len  made  foreman  of 
the  first  grand  jury.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  advice  in  Windsor,  in  1653,  in 
reference  to  the  levy  made  by  the  commission- 

*  Hist.  ofDorch.  by  a  Committee,?.  17. 

— In  a  list  of  the  most  prominent  adherents  of  Cromwell 
vrho  were  proscribed  at  the  restoration  is  found  the  name  "  I. 
Phelps."  He  is  among  those  who  "are  degraded,  and  when 
taken  to  be  drawn  from  Tower  to  Tiburne  with  ropes,  &c., 
and  imprisoned  during  life."  Stiles'  Judges,  p.  100. 


132  The  Windsor  Descendants. 

ers  from  the  colonies  assembled  at  Boston, who 
had  "  considered  what  number  of  soldiers  might 
be  necessary  if  God  called  the  colonies  to  war 
with  the  Dutch."  *  He  was  a  deputy  for  seven 
years  and  in  1658,  was  again  made  a  magistrate, 
which  office  he  held  for  four  years.  He  served 
frequently  on  the  petit  jury,  and  was  appointed 
with  Mr.  Welles  of  Hartford,  in  1641,  a  com- 
mittee on  lying. 

Joseph  Phelps,  the  fourth  son  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Phelps,  settled  in  that  part  of  Windsor 
called  Massacoe,  now  Simsbury.  Permanent 
settlements  were  made  here  as  early  as  1664, 
and  in  1667  Joseph  Phelps  received,  from  a 
committee  of  the  General  Court,  a  grant  of 
land  in  Massacoe.  He  was  distinguished  for 
his  bravery  in  numerous  conflicts  with  the  In- 
dians who  were  a  source  of  terror  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  Simsbury.  The  settlement  was  burn- 
ed in  1676,  and  the  hardy  pioneers  were  driven 
back  to  Windsor;  but  their  superior  endurance 
enabled  them,  finally,  to  drive  the  Indians 
from  this  part  of  the  state,  and  compelled  them 
to  leave  forever  the  valley  of  the  Tunxis, 

*  Governor  Stuyvesant  anticipated  an  invasion  of  New 
Amsterdam  by  the  men  of  New  England,  and  caused  a  pa- 
lisade or  wall  to  be  erected  about  the  northern  part  of  the 
city,  and  other  defensive  measures  to  be  adopted  at  an  ex- 
pense of  16,000  guilders,  or  about  $6, poo.  Stuyvesant's  abil- 
ity and  watchfulness  prevented  the  invasion.  Wall  street, 
of  the  present  day,  takes  its  ;v;.me  from  this  wall,  or  palisade. 


I'he  Windsor  Descendants. 

now  the  Farmington  river.*      Joseph  Phelps 
-Senior,  died  in  Simsbury,  in  1684. 

His  son,  Joseph  Phelps,  of  the  third  gen 
eration  from  Mr.  William  Phelps,  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Simsbury.  Ht 
was,  for  many  years,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and 
was  elected  twenty-eight  times  a  representative 
in  the  General  Assembly. 

Ensign  David  Phelps,  of  the  fourth  gene- 
eration,  was  distinguished  for  his  services  in 
the  revolutionary  war.  His  son  General  Noah 
Phelps,  then  a  captain,  was  a  chief  projector 
and  principal  actor  in  the  expedition  against 
Ticonderoga,  in  April,  1775.  When  the  volun- 
teers reached  Lake  Champlain,  Captain  Phelps 
crossed  it  in  a  boat  and  entered  the  fort  as  a 
spy.  He  pretended  that  his  object  was  to  get 

*  "  On  the  Farmington  River,  eight  or  ten  miles  west  of  the 
Connecticut,  lived  a  considerable  tribe,  sometimes  called  the 
Sepous,  but  more  commonly  the  Tunxis.  They  were  at  an 
early  period  subject  to  Sequassen,  the  sachem  who  sold  Hart- 
ford to  the  English  ;  and  they  must  have  formed  a  part  of  that 
great  tribe  or  confederacy,  whose  principal  seat  was  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Connecticut  River. 

"  The  Indians  of  Massacoe  or  Simsburv  were  small  in  num- 
ber and  were  unquestionably  a  portion  of  the  Tunxis.  Many 
of  them  fled  from  their  country  during  King  Philip's  war,  and 
in  1710,  only  a  few  families  remained  ;  in  1750,  the  last  rep- 
resentative had  disappeared. 

"  The  Windsor  Indians  seem  to  have  had  their  principal 
seat  at  Poquonnoc,  a  place  on  the  Farmington  river,  five  or 
six  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Connecticut.  The  first 
sachem  known  to  theEnglish  was  Sehat,  or  Sheat,  who  died 
not  long  after  the  settlement  of  the  town,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  nephew  Nassahegan." — Abridged  from  De  Forest's  Hist 
Conn.  Indians,  pp,  52,  369. 


134  The  Windsor  Descendants. 

shaved  and  succeeded  in  ascertaining  the  con- 
struction of  the  fort  and  strength  of  the  garri- 

o  o 

son.  So  important  was  his  information,  that 
the  works  were  captured,  on  the  following 
night,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  Gen- 
eral Noah  Phelps  was  a  Major-General  of  the 
Connecticut  Militia,  and  for  twenty-two  succes- 
sive years  a  judge  of  the  court  of  probate. 

Colonel  Noah  Amherst  Phelps,  son  of  Gen- 
eral Noah  Phelps  left  Yale  College  to  serve  in 
the  revolutionary  war.  He  filled,  afterwards, 
many  offices  of  honor  and  trust,  and  died  and 
is  buried  in  his  native  town,  Simsbury.  He 
left  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  six  of  whom, 
including  the  eldest,  and  youngest,  whose  ages 
range  from  65  to  84  are  still  living. 

The   sons  were : 

1 .  Noah  Amherst,  educated  at  Yale  College, 
practised  law  several  years  in  Hartford,  several 
times  represented  that  town  in  the  Legislature  ; 
afterward  successively  held  the  offices  of  High 
Sheriff,  Judge  of  the  County  Court,  Collector 
of  the  Customs  at  the  port  of  Middletown,  Sec- 
retary of  State,  &c.     He  is  still  living  and  re- 
sides in  Hartford.     He  is    the    author   of  the 
History  of  Simsbury. 

2.  Jeffery  Orson,   served  as  paymaster  in 
the  Connecticut  volunteers  in  the  war  of  1812, 
was  also  Sheriff  of  the  County,  Judge  of  the 


I'he  Windsor  Descendants.  135 

County  Court,  &c.,  and  now,  at  the  age  of  near- 
ly eighty  years  is  a  successful  law  practitioner 
in  his  native  town  of  Simsbury.  He  represent- 
ed his  town  in  the  Legislature  many  years  un- 
til 1868,  when  he  was  the  oldest  representative 
in  the  house. 

3.  Hector  Fayette,  also  educated  a  lawyer, 
still  lives  in  Simsbury  and  is  more  than  sev- 
enty years  old. 

4.  Guy  Rowland;  see  the  sketch  of  his  life 
in  the  following  pages. 

5.  George  Dwight,  the  youngest  of  the  eight 
children,   early  in  life  entered  into   mercantile 
pursuits  in  New  York,  from  which  he    retired 
in  1 852,  and,  soon  afterward,  accepted  the  man- 
agement and  presidency  of  the  Lackawanna  and 
Western  Railroad  Company,  now  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna,  and  Western  Railroad  Company, 
and  remained  in  that  office  four  years  during  the 
entire  construction  of  the   southern    division 
of  that   road,  and   until    that   enterprise  was 
in  successful    operation,  and   the  Lackawanna 
and  Wyoming  coal  fields  were    first    brought 
into  railroad  communication  with  New  York. 

The  line  of  descent  of  George  Dwight 
Phelps,  Esq.,  of  New  York  City,  from  the  Wind- 
sor pioneer  is  as  follows :  (i)  Mr.  William 
Phelps ;  (2)  Joseph,  m.  Hannah  Newton ;  (3) 
Joseph,  b.  1667,  m.  Mary  Collier,  Sarah  Case, 


136  The  Windsor  Descendants. 

and  Mary  Case ;  (4)  Ensign  David,  m.  Abigail 
Pettibone ;  (5)  Noah  *  b.  1740,  m.  Lydia 
Griswold;  f  (6)  Noah  Amherst,  b.  1762,  m. 
Charlotte  Wilcox;  (7)  George  Dwight  Phelps. 

The  late  John  J.  Phelps,  Esq.,  of  New 
York  City,  was  descended  from  the  pioneer  Wil- 
liam Phelps  in  the  following  line  :  (i)  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Phelps ;  (2)  Joseph,  m.  Hannah  Newton ; 
(3)  Joseph,  b.  1667,  m.  Mary  Collier,  Sarah  Case, 
and  Mary  Case  ;  (4)  Ensign  David,  m.  Abigail 
Pettibone;  (5)  Captain  David,  b.  1733,  m.  Abi- 
gail dau.  of  Edward  Griswold ;  (6)  Alexander, 
m.  Elizabeth  Eno;  (7)  John  Jay  Phelps. 

Mr.  Phelps  was  born  at  Simsbury,  Con- 
necticut, October,  25,  1810.  Leaving  his 
father's  roof  at  the  early  age  of  thirteen  years,  he 
commenced,  without  other  resources  than  the 
brave  spirit  within  him,  the  battle  of  life.  His 
career  was  varied  and  uniformly  successful.  Be- 
fore his  majority,  in  partnership  with  George  D- 


*  The  Hon.  Elisha  Phelps,  a  son  of  General  Noah  Phelps, 
was  born  Nov.  16,  1779,  married  Lucy  Smith,  of  Upper  Mid- 
dletown,  Conn.  He  died  April  6,  1847.  She  was  born  Dec.  10, 
1792,  died  April  19,  1847.  He  graduated  at  Yale  in  1800,  read 
law  at  Litchfield,  Conn,  was  State  Senator,  Speaker  of  Conn. 
House  Representatives,  member  of  Congress,  &c.,  &c.  His 
son,  John  Smith  Phelps,  of  Springfield,  Missouri,  has  been 
Member  of  Congress,  &c.  His  daughter  Lucy  Jane  married 
Amos  R.  Eno,  Esq.,  of  New  York.  His  daughter  Mary  Ann 
married  John  Allen,  Esq.,  of  New  York. — From  Notes  of 
John  Owen  Pettibone,  Esq. 

f  Daughter  of  Captain  George  Griswold,  of  Windsor. 
They  were  married  June  10,1761. 


I'he  Windsor  Descendants.  137 

Prentice,  Esq.,  he  edited  a  newspaper  in  Hartford. 
In  early  manhood,  he  manufactured  glass  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  made  that  acquaintance  with  the 
coal  fields  of  the  Lackawanna  Valley,  which 
was,  afterward,  so  much  a  source  of  profit. 
At  a  later  period,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
large  fortune  as  a  wholesale  merchant  in  the 
City  of  New  York,  where  the  name  of  Eno  & 
Phelps  is  still  synonymous  with  all  that  is  envia- 
ble in  mercantile  fame. 

They  dissolved  after  ten  years  co-partner- 
ship and  each  commenced  new  firms,  and  these 
different  branches  are  still  in  successful  opera- 
tion. Each  of  these  men  took  hold  of  real 
estate  and  operated  with  great  boldness. 

"  Before  he  was  forty  John  J.  Phelps  had 
built  a  splendid  block  on  the  site  of  old  Grace 
Church,  and  another  on  that  of  the  Park  Thea- 
tre. He  also  initiated  that  march  of  trade  to- 
ward the  north  side  of  the  town  which  has  con- 
tinued ever  since.  These  operations  were 
equaled  by  those  of  his  partner,  Mr.  Eno,  who 
finished  by  building  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel. 
Mr.  Phelps  lived  to  see  greater  changes  in  busi- 
ness than  had  previously  occurred  in  an  ordi- 
nary lifetime.  Instead  of  a  first  floor  and  base- 
ment worth  $1,500  per  year,  he  beheld  marble 
palaces  devoted  to  dry  goods.  He  also  beheld 
great  houses  grow  up,  wielding  immense  capi- 


138  tfhe  Windsor  Descendants. 

tal,  and  employing  hundreds  of  clerks,  paying 
from  $10,000  to  $30,000  rent,  and  selling  mil- 
lions upon  millions  annually.  He  saw  the  im- 
porting business  merged  into  that  of  jobbing, 
and  witnessed  the  removal  of  the  combined 
trade  far  up  town,  so  much  so  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  a  yard  of  calico  or  broadcloth 
on  sale  within  three  quarters  of  a  mile  of  Pearl 
street."* 

As  a  director  of  the  Erie  Railway,  Mr. 
Phelps  received  the  thanks  of  his  adopted  city 
in  a  joint  resolution  of  its  legislative  boards. 
He  was  also,  for  a  considerable  period,  identi- 
fied with  the  management  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna,  and  Western  Railway  Company 
which  has  become,  of  late  years,  a  highly  pros- 
perous incorporation.  It  has  been  created 
by  the  consolidation  of  other  companies  of 
which  The  Ligett's  Gap  Railroad  Company 
was  the  first  organized,  and  Mr.  John  J.  Phelps 
was  elected  its  first  President  in  1850,  and  held 
this  office  after  it  received  the  corporate  name 
of  The  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad 
Company,  when  he  resigned  the  presidency  in 
1853.  The  name  of  the  company  was  again 
changed,  about  this  time,  to  The  Delaware, 
Lackawanna,  and  Western  Railroad  Company, 
and  Mr.  Phelps  remained  in  the  Board  of  Man- 

*  From  the  daily  newspapers. 


I'he  Windsor  Descendants.  139 

agers  until  November  1863,  during  the  period 
of  the  inauguration  by  the  Board  and  success- 
.ful  execution  of  the  project  of  connecting  the 
Lackawanna  coal  fields  by  railroad  communica- 
tion with  the  sea  coast 

Mr.  John  J.  Phelps  was  the  first  to  use  the 
freestone  in  the  architecture  of  New  York  City 
and  some  of  the  finest  edifices  of  the  metropo- 
lis are  the  product  of  his  wealth  and  public 
spirit*  His  long  connection  with  the  direction 
of  the  Mercantile,  Second  National,  and  City 
Bank,  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Compa- 
ny, Manhattan  Gas  Light  Company,  Bleecker 
Street  Institution  for  Savings,  and  his  many 
other  public  and  private  trusts  are  evidences 
of  the  high  esteem  in  which  his  judgment  and 
fidelity  were  held  among  his  fellow-citizens. 

The  decease  of  Mr.  John  J.  Phelps  took 
place  in  the  city  of  New  York,  March  12,  1869. 
His  remains  will  be  conveyed  to  Simsbury  for  in- 
terment His  will  contained  numerous  bequests 
to  educational  and  charitable  institutions. 

Mr.  Phelps  has  left  only  one  son,  William 
Walter  Phelps,  Esq.,  who  is  a  well-known  law- 
yer of  New  York  City. 

The  late  Guy  R.  Phelps,  M.  D.,  son  of  Col- 
onel Noah  Amherst  Phelps,  of  Simsbury,  and 

*  James  Lenox,  Esq.,  was  also  one  of  the  first  to  use  the 
freestone  for  building  purposes  in  New  York  City. 


140  Ihe  Windsor  Descendants. 

formerly  the  President  of  the  Connecticut  Mu- 
tual Life  Insurance  Company,  was  the  founder 
of  this  company,  and  from  the  period  of  its  in- 
ception was  its  chief  manager.  Under  his  guid- 
ance mainly,  its  business  increased  from  small 
beginnings,  until  it  is  now  one  of  the  oldest, 
wealthiest,  and  most  popular  companies  in  the 
country.  Dr.  Phelps  was  born  in  Simsbury,  in 
April,  1802.  He  graduated  at  the  Yale  Med- 
ical College  in  1825,  and  settled  in  the  city 
of  New  York  where  he  resided  only  two  years, 
being  compelled,  on  account  of  failing  health,  to 
abandon  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  return 
to  his  native  town.  In  1846,  he  obtained  a  pol- 
icy of  insurance  upon  his  life,  and  being  thus  led 
to  investigate  the  subject  of  life  insurance,  he  ap- 
plied that  year  to  the  legislature  for  the  charter 
of  a  company  which,  when  organized,  bore  the 
name  of  the  Connecticut  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company.  He  insured,  himself,  among  his 
friends,  the  first  one  hundred  policies  in  the  com- 
pany and  thus  laid  the  foundations  of  its  exten- 
sive business. 

Dr.  Phelps  was  a  pioneer  in  life  insurance  in 
this  country,  and  he  has  left  a  reputation  for  en. 
ergy,  sagacity,  and  probity  which  is  greatly  to  be 
envied.  His  mind  was  well  stored  with  the  truths 
of  history,  science,  and  philosophy,  and,when  free 
from  the  cares  of  his  official  position,  he  display- 


Windsor  Descendants.  141 

ed,  often,  in  conversation  great  erudition.  He 
died,  universally  respected,  at  Hartford,  March 
18,  1869,  aged  67  years. 

Isaac  N.  Phelps,  Esq.,  of  New  York  City,  is 
descended  from  the  pioneer  George  Phelps  who 
settled  first  in  Windsor,  and  removed  afterward 
to  Westfield,  Massachusetts. 

Joseph  Phelps,  the  son  of  George  Phelps,  in 
company  with  John  Porter,  Junior,  his  father-in- 
law,  Samuel  Grant,  Samuel  Rockwell,  Thomas 
Bissell  and  others  made  the  first  settlement  at 
East  Windsor.  In  1680,  he  was  a  petitioner  to 
the  General  Court,  with  the  inhabitants  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  for  a  separate  town  organ- 
ization and  church  privileges. 

Joseph  Phelps,  of  the  third  generation,  was 
a  prominent  man  in  East  Windsor.  He  joined 
the  church  there  in  1700.*  Abigail  Bissell,  who 
was  afterward  his  wife,  joined  also  at  the  same 
time.  In  the  summer  of  1712,  he  was  engaged 
in  a  scout  with  Lieutenant  Crocker,  and  had  a 
a  narrow  escape  from  the  Indians,  losing  his 
blanket,  coat,  and  hat,  besides  other  articles.  He 
was  appointed,  Jan.  28,  1717-18,  with  Joseph 
Rockwell  and  Serg't.  Bissell,  to  hire  a  school- 
master for^East  Windsor.  He  died  in  1751, 
aged  73  years. 

*  The  Rev.  Timothy  Edwards  was  the  pastor  of  this  church. 
He  died  and  was  buried  in  East  Windsor.  The  Rev.  Jona- 
than Edwards,  D.D.,  the  distinguished  divine,  was  his  son. 


142  I'he  Windsor  Descendants. 

Captain  Daniel  Phelps  of  this  family  enlist- 
ed in  the  revolution,  for  the  whole  war.  He 
was  at  New  York  and  New  Rochelle.  Dr.  Isaac 
Phelps  served  for  three  years  from  May  1777,  in 
the  4th  Connecticut  Regiment.  Isaac  Phelps, 
Junior,  also  served  in  the  revolution.  Josiah 
Phelps  was  in  the  revolution  and  was  in  service 
at  Old  Milford. 

The  line  of  descent  of  Isaac  Newton  Phelps, 
Esq.,  from  George  Phelps,  is  believed  to  be  as 
follows:  (i)  George  Phelps,  m.  Phillury  Ran- 
dall; (2)  Joseph,  b.  1647,  m.  Mary  Porter;  (3) 
Joseph,  b.  1678,  m.  Abigail  Bissell;  (4)  Capt. 
Joseph,  b.  1704;  (5)  Joseph,  b.  about  1725;  (6) 
Joseph,  b.  about  1768,  m.  Betty  Sadd,  d.  1816, 
dau.  of  Matthew  Sadd  and  Molly  Grant ;  (7) 
Isaac  Newton  Phelps. 

It  will  be  observed,  from  this  lineage,  that 
Mr.  Isaac  N.  Phelps  .is  descended  from  Matthew 
Grant  and  John  Porter,  two  of  the  ancestors  of 
General  Ulysses  S.  Grant. 

Mr.  Isaac  N.  Phelps  was  for  twenty-eight 
years  the  leading  hardware  merchant  of  New 
York  City.  He  laid  the  foundation  of  his  for- 
tune in  this  trade,  in  connection  with  the  late  firm 
of  Sheldon  &  Phelps.  He  retired  from  active 
business  about  the  year  1848,  and  has  since  de- 
voted his  time  chiefly  to  banking  and  real  estate 
operations.  He  is  the  vice-president  of  the 


The  Windsor  Descendants.  143 

Greenwich  Savings  Bank,  and  has  been  associat- 
ed, for  many  years,  in  the  management  of  sev- 
eral banks  and  insurance  and  railroad  companies- 
ROYAL  PHELPS,  Esq.,  of  New  York  City,  is 
descended  from  the  pioneer  George  Phelps,  who 
removed  from  Windsor  to  Westfield,  Massachu- 
setts. The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Royal  Phelps, 
the  Hon.  John  Phelps,  was  a  prominent  lawyer 
of  Westfield,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  in 
1759,  and  represented  Hampden  county,  for  sev- 
eral years,  in  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts. 
The  Rev.  Royal  Phelps,  the  father  of  Mr.  Royal 
Phelps,  was  born  at  Westfield,  in  1780,  graduated 
at  Yale  College  in  1801,  and  was  installed  as  the 
pastor  of  a  church  in  Sempronius,  Cayuga  Coun- 
ty, New  York,  in  1806.  He  died  at  Water- 
town  in  1831.  Mr.  Royal  Phelps  was  born  in 
Sempronius,  March  30,  1809.  His  mother  was 
a  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Spaffbrd,  of  Rutland 
County,  Vermont.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  Mr. 
Phelps,  who  possessed  an  adventurous  disposi- 
tion, took  passage  for  the  island  of  St.  Croix, 
where  he  obtained  a  situation  as  a  clerk  in  a 
highly  respectable  house.  In  a  year  or  two  fol- 
lowing, he  set  out  for  the  Spanish  Main  where 
the  liberator  Bolivar  had  recently  established  the 
republic  of  Colombia.  Mr.  Phelps  settled  first 
at  Puerto  Cabello,  and,  afterward,  at  La  Guayra, 
where  he  became  the  manager  of  the  largest 


T  44  'The  Windsor  Descendants. 

American  house  on  that  coast.  In  1847,  ^e  es~ 
tablished  himself  in  New  York,  in  which  city 
he  has  since  been  actively  engaged  in  an  honor- 
able and  successful  mercantile  career. 

The  line  of  descent  of  Royal  Phelps,  Esq., 
from  George  Phelps, of  Westfield,  Massachusetts 
is  believed  to  be  as  follows  :  (i)  George  Phelps^ 
m.  Phillury  Randall  and  Frances  Dewey;  (2) 
George,  (3)  John,  m.  Thankful  --Jan.  1711; 
(4)  John,  b.  March  14,  1715-16;  (5)  John,  d. 
May  10,  1802;  (6)  Rev.  Royal  Phelps,  b.  1780 
m.  Hannah  Spafford;  (7)  Royal  Phelps. 

The  late  Anson  G.  Phelps,  Esq.,  of  New 
York  City,  was  descended  from  George  Phelps, 
the  Windsor  pioneer.  Thomas  Phelps,  of  the 
fourth  generation,  settled  at  West  Simsbury,  now 
Canton,  in  1745.  Lieutenant  Thomas  Phelps, 
his  son,  married  Dorothy  Lamb  Woodbridge, 
daughter  of  Haynes  and  Elizabeth  Woodbridge 
and  grand-daughter  of  Rev.  Timothy  and  Dor- 
othy Woodbridge  of  Simsbury.  Anson  Greene 
Phelps,  their  son,  married  Olivia,  daughter  of 
Elisha  and  Elizabeth  (Olcott)  Eggleston,  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut.  She  was  born  March  20, 
1784.  The  following  is  the  line  of  descent  of 
Anson  G.  Phelps,  Esq.,  from  George  Phelps: 
(i)  George  Phelps,  m.  Phillury  Randall;  (2) 
John,  b.  1651,  m.  Sarah  Buckland  ;  (3)  Thomas, 
b.  1687;  (4)  Thomas,  b.  1711,  m.  Margaret 


T'he  Windsor  Descendants.  145 

Watson;  (5)  Lieut  Thomas,  b.  1640,  m,  Dor- 
othy Lamb  Woodbridge ;  (6)  Anson  Greene 
Phelps. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Phelps,  Lieutenant  Thom- 
as Phelps,  was  among  the  first  to  enlist  from 
Simsbury  in  the  army  of  the  revolution,  and  he 
served  throughout  the  whole  war.  He  was,  dur- 
ing a  considerable  period  of  this  service,  an  officer 
under  General  Greene,  and  he  named  his  son 
Anson  Greene  in  honor  of  his  old  commander. 

Mr.  Anson  Greene  Phelps  was  born  in  Sims- 
bury.  His  father  died  soon  after  his  birth,  and,  at 
eleven  years  of  age,  he  lost  also  his  mother.  He 
removed,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  to  Hart- 
ford, and,  about  the  year  1815,  to  New  York 
City.  His  commercial  life  in  New  York  was 
identified  with  the  history  of  the  city  for  half  a 
century.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  well-known 
firm  of  Phelps,  Dodge  &  Co.,  and  his  mercantile 
career  was  one  of  remarkable  prosperity.  He 
was,  however,  especially  distinguished  in  his  day 
and  generation,  as  a  devout  Christian  and  philan- 
thropist. He  was  a  devoted  member  of  Dr. 
Spring's  church,  of  which  he  was  for  many  years 
an  elder.  The  Colonization  Society,  and  many 
other  charitable  institutions,  owed  much  of  their 
prosperity  to  his  benevolence  and  watchful  energy. 
Mr.  Anson  G.  Phelps  died  in  New  York,  Nov.  30, 
1853,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-four  years. 
7 


146  ^he  Windsor  Descendants. 

The  Hon.  William  E.  Dodge  married  Me- 
lissa; James  Stokes,  Esq.,  married  Caroline; 
Benjamin  B.  Atterbury,  Esq.,  married  Olivia; 
and  Daniel  James,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool,  England, 
married  Elizabeth  W.,  daughters  of  the  late 
Anson  G.  Phelps,  Esq. 

Mrs.  Sigourney  has  left  us  some  beautiful 
verses  descriptive  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Anson 
G.  Phelps.*  A  brief  selection  from  them  will 
be  found  interesting : 

"  The  cares  of  conscience  and  the  rush  of  wealth, 

Swept  not  away  his  meekness,  nor  the  time 

To  cultivate  all  household  charities, 

Nor  the  answering  conscientious  zeal 

To  consecrate  a  portion  of  his  gains 

To  man's  relief  and  the  Redeemer's  cause. 

*        *        *        Oh  !  praise  the  Lord 

For  the  example  of  his  godly  life, 

And  for  its  blessed  close." 

JOHN  STILES  came  to  Windsor  in  1635. 
Henry  R.  Stiles,  M.D.,  of  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  is  descended  from  the  Windsor  pioneer 
in  the  following  line: — (i)  John  Stiles;  (2) 

*  The  children  of  Lieut.  Thomas  and  Dorothy  Lamb  Phelps 
were  William  Haynes,  b.  Aug.  24,  1767  ;  George  Augustus, 
b.  Nov.  12,  1769,  d.  July  15,  1788  ;  Thomas  Woodbridge,  b. 
May  6, 1772;  Anson  Greene,  b.  March  24,  1781,  died  in  New 
York.  Lieut.  Thomas,  d.  Feb.  28,  1789.  Mrs.  Dorothy  L. 
Thelpsd.  Aug.  1792. 

The  children  of  the  late  Anson  G.  and  Olivia  Phelps 
are  Elizabeth  Woodbridge  (deceased),  Melissa,  Caroline  O. 
(dec'd);  Caroline;  Harriet  N.  ;  Anson  G; Olivia;  LydiaAnn, 
(dec'd).  The  facts  in  reference  to  the  lineage  of  the  late 
Anson  G.  Phelps,  Esq.,  were  communicated  by  John  Owen 
Pettibone,  Esq. 


'The  Windsor  Descendants.  147 

John  Stiles,  b.  in  England,  1633,  m.  1658, 
Dorcas  Burt ;  (3)  John,  b.  1665  at  Windsor, 
m.  Ruth  Bancroft  (4)  John,  b.  1692  at  Wind- 
sor, m.  Mary  Osborn  ;  (5)  Israel  b.  1719  at 
Windsor,  m.,  about  1748,  Martha  Rockwell; 
(6)  Asahel,  b.  1753,  at  Windsor,  m.  Try- 
phena  Chapin ;  (7)  Samuel,  b.  1766,  at  E. 
Windsor,  m.  1825*,  Charlotte  Sophia  Reed; 
(8)  Henry  Reed,  M.D.,  b.  1832,  in  New  York. 

Dr.  Stiles  is  the  author  of  the  following 
works  :  History  and  Genealogies  of  Ancient 
Windsor  and  Supplement  (1859—1863),  Mas- 
sachusetts family  of  Stiles,  (1863),  Annota- 
tions to  Furman's  Notes  on  Brooklyn,  (1866), 
Wallabout  Prison  Series,  2  vols.,  (1866), 
History  of  the  City  of  Brooklyn,  (Vol.  I. 
1867,  Vol.  II,  1869),  and  some  others  which 
are  in  press. 

The  Rev.  Ezra  Stiles,  LL.D.,  formerly 
President  of  Yale  College,  was  a  descendant 
in  the  fourth  generation  from  John  Stiles  the 
pioneer  at  Windsor. 

HENRY  WOLCOTT,  SENIOR,  was  the 
second  son  of  John  Wolcott  of  Galdon 
Manor,  Tolland,  in  Somersetshire,  England. 
He  enjoyed  an  excellent  income  from  the 
family  estates  which  he  inherited  at  the 
decease  of  his  elder  brother,  and  his  position 
among  the  gentry  of  England  was  quite  re- 


148  The  Windsor  Descendants. 

spectable.  Influenced,  however,  by  a  sense  of 
duty  and  a  desire  to  enjoy  religious  liberty, 
when  about  fifty-two  years  of  age,  he  aban- 
doned his  ancestral  mansion  and  emigrated  to 
America,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Warham,  was  made  a  freeman  in  Boston,  Oct. 
19,  1630,  and  removed  in  1635,  with  Mr. 
Warham's  church,  to  Windsor,  Connecticut. 
He  was  the  companion  of  Matthew  Grant  in  his 
journeyings,  and  his  name  appears  first  in  Mat- 
thew Grant's  list  of  the  church  members.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  first  general  assembly  in 
1637,  and  in  1643  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  house  of  magistrates,  which  office  he  held 
until  his  death,  in  1655". 

Simon  Wolcott,  a  younger  son  of  Henry 
Wolcott,  the  pioneer,  was  admitted  a  freeman 
of  Windsor  in  1654.  He  removed  afterward 
to  Simsbury,  and,  in  1680,  to  East  Windsor, 
where  he  died  in  1687.  Governor  Roger 
Wolcott  was  the  son  of  Simon  Wolcott,  and 
was  born  in  Simsbury  in  1678-9,  but  resided, 
most  of  his  life,  in  East  Windsor.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  Connecticut 
has  ever  produced.  He  was  a  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  1732,  deputy-governor  and 
chief-judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  1641,  the 
second  in  command  of  the  expedition  which 
resulted  in  the  capture  of  Louisberg,  in  1745, 


'The  Windsor  Descendants.  149 

and  in  the  year  1750  was  made  governor  of 
the  colony.  He  died  at  East  Windsor,  May 
7,  1767.  His  son,  Oliver  Wolcott  of  Litch- 
field,  Connecticut,  the  signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  and  his  grandson,  Oliver 
Wolcott,  of  the  same  place,  were  both  gov- 
ernors of  Connecticut.  The  second  Oliver 
Wolcott  was  also  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States  under  the  administrations  of 
Washington  and  Adams.  Ursula  Wolcott, 
the  daughter  of  Governor  Roger  Wolcott, 
became  the  wife  of  Governor  Matthew  Gris- 
wold  of  Lyme.  She  was  the  wife,  the  daugh- 
ter, the  mother,  the  sister,  and  the  aunt  of  a 
governor  of  Connecticut.  Her  grand-daugh- 
ter, Ursula  (Griswold)  McCurdy,  was  the 
mother  of  Robert  H.  McCurdy,  Esq.,  of 
New  York  City,  who  is  descended  from  two 
governors  of  Connecticut,  and  from  the 
Windsor  pioneer,  "  Henry  Wolcott,  some- 
time a  Maiestrate  of  this  Jurisdiction." 

The  only  male  descendants  who  are  now 
living  of  the  Hon.  Oliver  Wolcott,  the  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  are  his 
grandsons,  Joshua  Huntington  Wolcott,  Esq., 
of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  Frederick  Henry 
Wolcott,  Esq.,  of  New  York  City,  and 
Charles  Mosely  Wolcott,  Esq.,  of  Fishkill 
Landing,  New  York.  They  are  the  sons  of 


150          Persecutions  of  the  Puritans. 

Frederick  Wolcott  of  Litchfield,    and   Betsy 
Huntington,  of  Norwich,  Connecticut. 

8.  --  PERSECUTIONS  OF  THE  PURITANS  IN 
ENGLAND. 

About  the  year  1630,  Archbishop  Laud 
called  before  him  in  the  Star  Chamber  Dr.  Ed- 
ward Leighton,  a  Scotch  puritan  preacher,  for 
writing  against  the  queen  of  Charles  I.,  and  the 
bishops  in  a  book  entitled,  "  An  Appeal  to  the 
Parliament,  or  Sion's  Plea  against  Prelacy." 
The  tone  of  the  book  was  disrespectful  and  fa- 
natic, but  we  lose  sight  of  its  demerits  in  the 
atrocious  punishment  of  the  author,  who  vain- 
ly pleaded,  in  this  infamous  court,  that  he  had 
offended  through  zeal,  and  not  through  any 
personal  malice. 

He  was  degraded  from  the  ministry,  pub- 
licly whipped  in  Palace-yard,  Westminster, 
placed  in  the  pillory  for  two  hours,  had  an  ear 
cut  off,  a  nostril  slit,  and  was  branded  on  one 
of  his  cheeks  with  the  letters  SS.,  "  Sower  of 
Sedition."  After  these  detestable  operations, 
he  was  sent  back  to  prison,  but  at  the  end  of 
one  short  week,  before  his  wounds  were  healed, 
he  was  again  dragged  forth  to  another  public 
whipping,  the  pillory,  the  knife,  and  the  brand  ; 
and  after  he  had  been  deprived  of  his  other 
ear,  slit  in  the  other  nostril,  and  burnt  on  the 


Persecutions  of  the  Puritans.          151 

other  cheek,  he  was  thrust  back  into  his  dun- 
geon, there  to  lie  for  life.  After  ten  years, 
Dr.  Leighton  regained  his  liberty,  but  it  was 
neither  at  the  mercy  of  Laud,  nor  King  Charles, 
but  through  the  parliament,  which  destroyed 
alike  the  bishop  and  the  king. 

Mr.  William  Prynne  was  a  barrister  of 
Lincoln's  Inn,  who  with  Michael  Sparkes,  "a 
common  publisher  of  unlawful  and  unlicensed 
books,"  William  Buckmer  and  four  other  de- 
fendants, were,  in  Hilary  term,  1634,  brought 
before  the  court  of  Star  Chamber,  upon  infor- 
mation filed  by  the  Attorney-General  Noy. 
The  offence  charged  was,  that  Mr.  Prynne, 
about  the  eighth  year  of  Charles'  reign  (being 
the  current  year),  had  compiled  and  put  in 
print  a  libellous  volume,  entitled  "  Histrio- 
Mastix,  the  Player's  Scourge,  or  Actor's  Trag- 
edie,"  which  was  directed  against  all  plays, 
masques,  dances,  masquerades,  etc.  The  whole 
tenor  of  the  book,  according  to  Noy,  was  not 
less  against  the  orthodox  church  of  England 
than  against  their  sacred  majesties. 

The  Lord  Chief  Justice  Richardson  passed 
sentence  upon  Mr.  Prynne  that  his  book  should 
be  burned,  that  he  should  be  degraded  from 
the  bar  and  the  university,  should  be  set  in  the 
pillory,  be  fined  .£5,000,  and  be  placed  in  per- 
petual imprisonment.  Upon  motion  of  the 


152          Persecutions  of  the  Puritans. 

Earl  of  Dorset  the  fine  was  increased  to  ,£10,- 
ooo,  and  it  was  ordered,  also,  that  he  be  burn- 
ed in  the  forehead,  slit  in  the  nose  and  have 
his  ears  cropped,  in  addition  to  the  above  sen- 
tence of  the  Chief  Justice.  Buckmer  was  let  off 
more  easily,  as  he  had  been  a  chaplain  to  Arch- 
bishop Abbot,  but  Sparkes  the  printer  was  fined 
.£500,  and  was  made  to  stand  in  the  pillory 
with  a  paper  on  his  head  declaring  his  offence. 

Dr.  Leighton  and  Mr.  Prynne  were  men 
of  eminence,  and  although  their  zeal  in  the 
cause  of  reforming  their  country  may  have  led 
them  too  far,  the  present  generation  has  much 
to  thank  them  for. 

These  events  transpired  in  the  same  years 
in  which  the  early  pioneers  of  Windsor  aban- 
doned the  homes  of  their  forefathers  for  a 
dwelling-place  across  the  ocean,  in  the  wilder- 
ness, among  savages,  and  they  will  suffice  as  an 
illustration  of  the  spirit  of  that  age.  Certainly, 
their  persecutors  had  not  learned  the  divine 
principles  which  are  expressed  so  beautifully  by 
the  Bard  of  Avon : 

"  The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strained  : 
It  droppeth,  as  the  gentle  dew  from  heaven 
Upon  the  place  beneath.     It  is  twice  blessed — 
It  blesseth  him  that  gives,  and  him  that  takes."* 

*  The  facts  and  the  language  of  the  above  paper  are  se- 
lected with  some  abridgment  from  The  Social  History  of  Great 
Britain,  Vol.  II.,  p.  199. 


Matthew  Grant's  Will.  153 

9. — THE  LAST  WILL  AND  TESTAMENT  OF  MAT- 
THEW GRANT  OF  WINDSOR. 

(COPIED    FROM    THE  ORIGINAL  ON  FILE  IN  THE  OFFICE  OF    THE 
COURT    OF   PROBATE    FOR   THE    DISTRICT    OF    HARTFORD.) 

"December  9th,  1681.  Mathew  Grant  of  Windzor  being 
aged  and  vnder  present  weaknes  yet  of  competency  of  vnder- 
standing  doe  by  this  declare  my  last  will  concerninge  the  diss- 
pose  of  my  estate  as  followeth. 

ist.  I  doe  declare  that  my  son  Samuell  my  eldest  son  is 
already  satisfyed  with  the  portion  I  made  over  to  hime  in  land 
already  recorded  to  him,  and  that  is  my  will  concerninge  him. 

zdly.  Concerninge  my  son  Tehan  my  will  is  that  hee  shall 
haue  as  a  legassy  payd  to  hime  in  country  pay  by  my  son  John 
the  full  some  of  five  pounds,  and  this  to  bee  payd  two  years 
after  my  decease.  Alsoe  I  doe  appoynt  hime  to  gather  vpp  all 
all  the  debts  oweing  to  me  in  this  towne  or  elsewhere,  and  my 
will  is,  hee  my  son  Tehan  shall  have  them  for  his  owne. 

3dly.  My  will  is  that  my  son  John  with  whome  I  have  liued 
some  time,  I  doe  give  to  hime  all  my  meadow  land  in  the  great 
meadow.  Alsoe  I  give  to  him  my  pasture  land  lyeinge  belowe 
the  hill  agaynst  Thomas  Dibles  home  lott  and  my  owne  :  Alsoe, 
I  doe  give  him  the  sayd  John  my  home  lott  and  orchard  with 
the  old  housinge  which  I  built  before  hee  came  to  dwell  in  itt. 
Alsoe  I  doe  give  to  hime  my  wood  lott  lyinge  in  the  quarter 
lotts.  Alsoe,  I  give  to  my  sonne  John  all  the  rest  of  my  estate 
exceptinge  my  weareinge  clothes,  my  sonne  John  shall  paye  to 
my  sonne  Tehan  fiue  pounds  as  is  already  expressed  in  my  will 
concerninge  hime,  at  the  times  and  manner  afforesayd,  and  also 
unto  my  daughter  Humferyes  fiue  pound  in  country  pay  two 
yeers  after  my  decease. 

Alsoe  my  will  is  and  I  doe  giue  my  daughter  Humferryes  as 
a  legassy  fiue  pound  to  be  payd  in  country  pay  two  years  after 
my  decease.  Alsoe  I  giue  her  all  my  wearinge  cloathes.  I  doe 
make  my  son  John  sole  executor  of  this  my  last  will  and  testa- 
ment as  witnes  my  hand,  MATHEW  GRANT. 
Witnes  JOHN  LOOMYS,  Sen'. 

The  mark  of  x   THOMAS  DIBLE. 
7* 


154  Matthew  Grants  Will. 

John  Loomys  Senr  and  Thomas  Dibble  Senr  both  of  them 
personally  appeared  and  gaue  oath  that  this  was  the  last  Will  and 
Testament  of  Mathew  Grant  deceast  as  its  dated  :  December 
the  ninth  one  thousand  sixe  hundred  eighty  one.  Dated  in 
Wyndzor:  March  i,  1681. 
Before  me, 

BENJAMIN  NEWBERY  Comission'." 

AN     INVENTORY     OF     THE     ESTATE    OF    MATHEW     GRANT    OF 
WINDSOR,  DECEASED,  TAKEN   JANY.    IOTH   (8l). 

lb.  sh.  d. 
It.  An  old  house  and  homestead  with  a  small 

orchard  25 — oo — oo 
It.  5  acres  of  meadow  and  3  acres  of  pasture  at 

6  lb.  per  acre  48 — oo — oo 

It.  23  acres  of  woodland  in  the  northwest  feild  23 — oo — oo 

It.  In  wareing  cloathes  woolin  &  linin  06 — 10 — oo 

It.  In  brass  &  pewter  &  one  spitt  01 — 13 — oo 
It.  In  2  chests,  old  beding  with  some  lining  wth 

other  things  02 — 06 — 06 

It.  Andjrons,  tramells  &  Tubbs  01 — 09 — oo 

It.  Books  &  other  small  things  01 — 01 — oo 
It.  2  swords,  a  broad  axe  &  old  iron  &  other  things  02 — 05 — oo 

It.  a  bedsted,  wedges,  grindston  &  other  things  01 — 16 — oo 

It.  in  booke  debts  due  to  him  from  many  persons  05 — 18 — oo 


Total  118 — 1 8 — 06 

Taken  by  us  THOMAS  DIBBLE,  Sen',  x  mark. 
JOHN  LOOMYS. 

[The  Will  and  Inventory  are  recorded  in  the  records  of  the 
County  and  Probate  Court  at  Hartford.  Vol.  4,  page 
88.  The  foregoing  copy  of  the  Will  is  made  from 
the  original  preserved  in  the  files.  It  is  in  the  hand- 
writing of  John  Loomys,  Senr.  the  first  subscribing 
witness.] 
"  A  County  Court  held  at  Hartford,  March  2d,  :68|. 

##*##*# 
"  The  last  will  &  Testament  of  Mathew  Grant  was  exhibited 


Captain  Grant's  Muster-Roll. 


155 


in  Court,  proved,  &  ordered  to  be  recorded,  with  an  Inventory 
of  his  Estate." 

County  Court  Records,  Vol.  IV. 

Contributed  by  Hon.  J.  H.  Trumbull. 

10. — THE  MUSTER-ROLL  OF  CAPT.  NOAH  GRANT'S 
COMPANY  IN  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR. 

Dated  March  26,  1756.  "This  Muster- 
Roil  is  said  to  be  in  the  hand-writing  of  Captain 
Grant,  who  was  the  great-grandfather  of  General 
Ulysses  S.  Grant,  U.  S.  A.  Captain  Noah 
Grant  was  killed  Sept.  2oth,  1756.  (signed) 
Jesse  R.  Grant,  Covington,  Kentucky." 

"TIME 

ENLISTED."  "  NAMES  AND  QUALITY." 

"March  z6.Capt.  Noah  Grant,     Jno.  Chambers, 
Dead  Sept.  zoth." 

"     26.  Lieu'  Medina  Fitch, 

"     26.  Lieu'  Josiah  Gates, 
Sarg1  Hezkh  Parsons, 
Sarg'  Sol"  Willis, 
Sarg1  Benj."  Tubbs, 
Ditto,  Ozias  Bissell, 
Clerk,  Nath"  Webb, 
Sarg1  Jno.  Shield, 
Corp1  Jno.  Shield, 
Corp1  Eli  Parker, 
C[orp'  ]  William  [Pa]gc, 
C[orp'  ]  Benj"  Lewis, 
Drummer,    Nath.    Parce    (or 

Pprcc), 
Jonath.  Birge, 
Nath1  Boardman, 


Jesse  Belnap, 
John  Bingham, 
Aaron  Beard  [sley], 


Jonah  Chapman, 
Solomon  Cooper, 
Nath11  Dart, 
Jedediah  Darling, 
David  Dunam, 
Richard  Da[vis], 
Alexr  Dodge, 
John  Dodge, 
Willm  Eaton, 
Tho'  Elsworth, 
Lot  Fuller, 
Dan11  Filley, 
Solomon  Hall, 
Ichabod  Hinkley, 
David  Hatch, 
Elisha  Hubbard, 
Benj"  Hubbard, 
Peter  Huntington, 
David  Johnson, 
He[zkh]  Kilborn, 


156  Lieutenant  Solomon  Grant. 

Elijah  Kilborn,  Isaac  Tucker, 

Noah  Lyon,  George  Tryon, 

Joseph  Luce,  Caleb  Talcott, 

Wm.  Josiah  Lewis,  Zephaniah'Thayer, 

Prince,  Negro,  James  Tattington, 

Jupiter,  Negro,  Jacob  White, 

Josiah  Owen,  Israel  Warner. 

Josiah  Pinney,  Sylvanus  Willoughby, 

Enos  Parker,  Timothy  Wheeler, 

Daniel  Pearse,  Sam"  Wells, 

Daniel  Russ,  Ephraim  Wells, 

Joseph  Rogers,  Ichabod  Wells, 

Rufus  Root,  James  Webb, 
Joshua  Read,  Zebulon  Waterman, 

James  Simon,  William  Young, 

George  Smith,  Joseph  Sparks, 

Abner  Scovell,  James  Hunt." 
Solomon  Sey, 

/  The  term  of  service  of  each  man  and  the 
amount  of  pay  due  are  also  entered  in  other 
columns  but  are  here  omitted. 

ii. — LIEUTENANT     SOLOMON    GRANT    OF     THE 
FRENCH    AND   INDIAN  WAR. 

Lieutenant  Solomon  Grant,  of  Coventry,  probably  enlisted 
as  a  private,  in  one  of  the  companies  raised  in  August  and 
September,  1755,  on  receipt  of  an  urgent  call  upon  the  Col- 
ony, from  Sir  Wm.  Johnson,  for  the  reinforcement  of  the 
northern  army.  A  special  session  of  the  General  Assembly, 
held  August  27,  ordered  two  regiments  to  be  raised  forthwith, 
and  offered  extra  pay  to  volunteers.  The  two  regiments, 
commanded  by  Samuel  Talcott  and  Elihu  Chauncey,  were 
promptly  filled,  and  were  on  their  march  early  in  September. 
Solomon  Grant's  will  was  made  September  8th,  when  he  was 


Lieutenant  Solomon  Grant.  157 

"  about  going  in  the  expedition  to  Canada."  The  rolls  of 
these  regiments  are  n.ot  complete,  and  it  does  not  appear  to 
which  company  Solomon  belonged. 

In  March,  1756,  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly 2d  Lieutenant  of  the  4th  Company,  Capt.  John  Slap,  of 
Mansfield,  in  the  3d  Regiment  (Col.  Nathan  Whiting),  of  five 
regiments  ordered  to  be  forthwith  raised.  At  the  same  time, 
Noah  was  appointed  Captain  of  the  7th  Company  of  the  2d 
Regiment  (David  Wooster's). 

In  May,  1756,  Lieut.  John  Levens,  of  Killingly,  ist  Lieut, 
of  John  Payson's  Company,  Lyman's  Regiment,  who  had 
been  raising  a  company  of  volunteers  for  Crown  Point,  set 
out  with  his  command  on  his  march  northward.  On  the  I5th 
or  25th  of  June,  he  was  at  Halfmoon,  and  while  in  camp  there, 
sent  out  a  scout  toward  Hoosuc,  [that  is  I  suppose,  toward 
what  was  then  West  Hoosuc,  and  now  Williamstown,  Mass., 
where  the  settlers  had  a  small  fort  and  block  house,  about 
this  time].  This  scout  was  under  the  command  of  Lieut. 
Solomon  Grant.  When  about  twelve  miles  westward  from 
Hoosuc,  the  party  was  attacked  by  Indians,  several  killed, 
and  four  or  five  carried  prisoners  to  Canada.  Of  the  prison- 
ers, Thomas  Wilson,  of  Killingly,  Jonathan  Eastman,  of 
Woodstock,  and  Zebadiah  Colburn,  of  Windham,  returned  to 
Connecticut,  in  the  autumn  of  1757.  The  facts  above  given  ap- 
pear from  the  petitions  of  these  men  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, in  Conn.  Archives  "War,"  Vol.  VI.  Docs.  270,  271,  278. 
Lieut.  Levens  certifies,  that  "  on  the  25th  day  of  June,  the 
said  scout  was  beset  by  the  enemy  and  sundry  of  the  saiJ 
scout  killed."  "Wilson  and  Eastman  say  that  "  on  the  1 5th 
of  June,  1756,  being  ordered  out  with  a  scouting  party  under 
the  command  of  Lieut.  Solomon  Grant,  [they]  were  captivated 
by  a  party  of  the  enemy  Indians  about  twelve  miles  to  the 
westward  of  Osuck  Fort,  and  from  thence  ....  carried  to  an 


158  Lieut enam  Solomon  Grant. 

Indian  town  about  eight  miles  from  Montreal."  Wilson  re- 
turned to  Killingly,  Sept.  10,  1757. 

There  is  a  difference  of  ten  days,  June  15  and  25  :  nine 
between  Levens's  statement  and  that  of  the  returned  captives. 

Neither  of  the  two  petitions  mentions  the  death  of  Lieut. 
Grant,  but  there  is  hardly  room  for  doubt  that  he  was  among 
the  killed.*  Local  tradition  agrees  substantially  with  these 
facts.  The  reader  will  find  below  an  extract  from  a  carefully 
prepared  and  generally  trustworthy  manuscript  History  of 
North  Coventry,  written  five  and  twenty  years  ago,  by  the 
minister  of  that  parish.  Mr.  Root  makes  the  place  of  the 
attack,  "  near  Springfield,"  instead  of  the  west  border  of 
Massachusetts. 

Several  months  may  have  elapsed  before  the  certainty 
of  Grant's  death  was  known  to  his  friends  in  Coventry. 
The  Inventory  of  his  estate  was  not  made  until  March  16, 
1757- 

"  Solomon  Grant  first  occupied  the  farm  [which  was  Jas- 
per Gilbert's  place,  in  1844].  He  was  a  bachelor,  and  built 
the  house  which  was  taken  down  to  make  room  for  the  pres- 
ent dwelling.  One  asked  him  '  Why  he  built  ?  He  had  no 
housekeeper.'  '  I  intend,'  he  replied,  '  to  build  a  cage  first, 
and  then  catch  the  bird  to  put  in  it.'  In  the  old  French  war 
it  fell  to  his  lot  to  go  and  serve  his  king.  When  on  his  way 
to  join  the  army,  he  was  surprised  and  cut  off,  he  and  his  com- 
rades, six  in  number,  by  the  Indians,  near  Springfield,  in  the 
night.  Previous  to  his  leaving  home  he  made  his  will,  [Sept. 


*Azariah  Wills,  of  Tolland,  was  one  of  the  party  under 
command  of  Lieut.  Solomon  Grant,  when  the  latter  was  kill- 
ed, June  25,  1756.  He  was  carried  prisoner  to  Canada,  and 
not  released  till  Nov.,  1758.  On  his  journey  home,  he  died, 
Nov.  1 8.  Waldo's  Hist,  of  Tolland,  p.  44.  Wills  was  a  pri- 
vate in  Capt,  John  Slap's  Company,  and  enlisted  April  2. — 
Hon.  J.  H.  T. 


Lieut.  Solomon  Grant's  Will.          159 

8,  I75S]>  and  gave  a  donation  to  the  Society  for  the  purpose  of 
education  [^200,  old  Tenor]  which  is  still  in  existence ;  the 
youths  have  the  income  of  the  fund  in  the  School  Society.  He 
entailed  his  estate  which  has  been  the  source  of  some  trouble 
to  the  owners  of  the  land. 

"  His  brother  Noah  Grant,  on  his  [Solomon's]  decease,  im- 
proved the  farm  ;  he  sold  it  to  John  Babcock,  who  sold  to  Jo- 
seph G.  Norton,  who  sold  to  Royal  Wales,  who  sold  to  Jas- 
per Gilbert,  who  sold  to  Lyman  Talcott,  who  sold  to  Jasper 
Gilbert.  For  many  years  some  one  has  merchandized  on  this 
place."  Extract  from  an  unpublished  (MS.)  History  of  North 
Coventry,  by  Rev.  Marvin  Root,  (1844);  in  library  of  Conn. 
Hist.  Society. — Contributed  by  Plon.  J.  H.  Tntmbull. 

12. — THE    WILL    OF     LIEUTENANT     SOLOMON 
GRANT. 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen,  the  eighth  day  of  September, 
A.D.  1755. 

I,  Solomon  Grant  of  Coventry,  in  the  County  of  Windham 
and  Colony  of  Connecticut,  in  Xe\v  England,  being  about  go- 
ing on  the  expedition  against  Crown  Point,  and  also  of  per- 
fect mind  and  memory — Thanks  be  to  God  therefor — calling 
into  mind  the  mortality  of  my  body,  and  knowing  that  it  is 
appointed  for  all  men  once  to  die,  do  make  and  ordain  this 
my  last  Will  and  Testament ;  that  is  to  say,  Principally,  and 
first  of  all,  I  give  and  recommend  my  soul  into  the  hands  of 
God  that  gave  it,  and  my  body  I  recommend  to  the  earth,  to 
be  buried  in  decent  Christian  burial,  at  the  discretion  of  my 
Executor,  nothing  doubting  but  at  the  General  Ressurrection 
I  shall  receive  the  same  again,  by  the  mighty  power  of  God, 
and  as  touching  such  worldly  estate,  wherewith  it  hath  pleased 
God  to  bless  me  in  this  life. 

I  give,  devise,  and  dispose  of  the  same,  in  the  following 
manner  and  form. 


160         Lieut.  Solomon  Grant's 

Imprimis.  I  give  and  devise  unto  my  well-beloved 
brother,  Noah  Grant,  all  and  every  part  of  my  real  estate  du- 
ring his  natural  life.  At  his  decease  I  give  the  whole  of  said 
estate  to  my  said  brother's  oldest  son  then  surviving,  and  at 
his  decease  to  the  next  oldest  male  heir,  and  so  on,  to  be  an 
estate  entail,  in  manner  aforesaid,  successively  from  one  gen- 
eration to  another  to  the  latest  posterity. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  well-beloved  brother 
Adoniram  Grant,  after  my  debts  and  funeral  expenses  are 
paid,  and  also  he  paying  what  I  shall  hereafter  bequeath,  the 
whole  of  my  movable  estate. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  well-beloved  sister,  Martha 
Price,  one  hundred  pounds  in  old  tenor  bills  of  credit,  to  be 
paid  out  of  my  movable  estate. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  well-beloved  brothers, 
Benjamin  and  Elias  Buell,  each  of  them  twenty  pounds,  in 
old  tenor  bills  of  credit,  to  be  out  of  my  movable  estate. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  well-beloved  sister, 
Abigal  Buell,  ten  pounds  in  old  tenor  bills  of  credit,  to  be  paid 
out  of  my  movable  estate. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  well-beloved  brother, 
Samuel  Buell,  five  pounds,  in  old  tenor  bills  of  credit,  to  be 
paid  out  of  my  movable  estate. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  well-beloved  sister, 
Hannah  Kimball,  five  pounds  in  old  tenor  bills  of  credit,  for 
the  use  and  benefit  of  the  School  in  said  Society,  to  be  paid 
out  of  my  movable  estate. 

All  the  above  legacies  to  be  paid  by  my  Executor  after 
named,  within  the  space  of  one  year  after  my  decease. 

I  do  hereby  constitute,  make,  and  ordain  my  well-beloved 
brother,  Adoniram  Grant,  to  be  my  sole  Executor  of  this  my 
last  Will  and  Testament,  and  I  do  hereby  disallow,  revoke, 
and  disannul  all  and  every  other  former  Testaments,  Legacies, 
Bequests,  and  Executors  by  me  in  any  way  before  named, 
ratifying  and  confirming  this  and  no  other  to  be  my  last  Will 
and  Testament. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal 
the  day  and  year  above  written. 

SOLOMON  GRANT.    [L.  S.] 


I'he  Delano  Family.  16  1 

Signed,  Sealed,  Published,  Pronounced,  and  declared  by 
the  said  Solomon  Grant,  as  his  last  Will  and  Testament,  in 
the  presence  of  the  subscribers, 

PHINEAS  STRONG,  JR. 
CALEB  FAIRCHILD, 
OZIAS  STRONG. 

The  Inventory  accompanying  the  Will  gave  the  property 
as  about  nine  hundred  pounds  sterling.  —  Contributed  by  Hon. 
Richard  A.  Wheeler. 

13.  —  THE  DELANO  FAMILY. 


e  La  Noye,  or  as  afterward  written  Delano,  came 
to  Plymouth  in  the  "Fortune,"  Nov.  13,  1621  ;  "from  Ley- 
den,"  as  Winslow  informs  us  {Hypocrisie  Unmasked,  p.  96), 
"  born  of  French  parents  ;  who  coming  to  age  of  discern- 
ment, demanded  also  communion  withvs,  and  proving  him- 
self to  be  come  of  such  parents  as  were  in  full  communion 
with  the  French  churches,  was  hereupon  admitted  by  the 
church  of  Plymouth  ;  .....  and  upon  letters  of  recom- 
mendation from  the  church  at  Plymouth,  hee  was  also  ad- 
mitted into  fellowship  with  the  church  at  Duxbury."  He 
was,  probably,  the  son  of  Jean  and  Marie  de  Launey  [or  de 
Lanoue]  baptized  Dec.  7,  1603,  in  the  Walloon  church  of 
Leyden.  In  a  deposition  given  in  1641,  he  is  described  as 
"  Philip  De  Lanoe,  planter,  of  Duxbury,  aged  about  thirty-six 
years."  [This  refers  his  birth  to  1604  or  1605,  but  if  his  age 
at  death  is  correctly  given,  he  must  have  been  born  about 
1602,  which  makes  identity  with  the  child  of  Jean  and  Marie, 
baptized  in  1603,  more  probable.  See  Savage's  Geneal.  Dic- 
tionary, ii.  34.]  At  Duxbury,  he  married,  Dec.  19,  1634,  Es- 
ther Dewsbury,  and  (2)  in  165  7,  Mary,  dau.  of  William  Pontus 
and  widow  of  James  Glass.  He  removed  from  Duxbury  to 
Bridgewater  ;  was  one  of  the  purchasers  of  Dartmouth,  in 


1 62  The  Delano  Family. 

1652,  and  of  Middleborough,  in  1662  ;  and  died,  1681,  "aged 
about  79  years.'' 

Jonathan,  son  of  Philip  and  Esther  [Dewsbury]  De  la  Noye 
born  about  1648,  was  prominent  in  town  affairs  in  Dartmouth. 
He  married  Feb.  26,  1678,  Mercy  Warren,  dau.  of  Nathaniel. 
Died,  Dec.  23  (or  28),  1720. 

Jonathan,*  eldest  son  of  the  preceding,  came  from  Dart- 
mouth to  Tolland,  Conn.,  May  8,  1722,  He  was  a  selectman 
of  Tolland  for  eleven  years,  and  town  clerk  (his  father  had 
filled  the  same  office  at  Dartmouth),  for  twelve  years,  1724- 
1736.  His  surname  and  that  of  his  descendants  has  been 
written  Delano.  He  had  thirteen  children.  (Waldo's  Hist, 
of  Tolland,  114.)  His  fifth  daughter  Susannah,  born  June 
23,  1724,  married  Noah  Grant,  Nov.  5,  1746. 

The  name  of  De  la  None  was  not  uncommon  in  Paris  in 
the  :6th  and  I7th  centuries.  It  came  probably  from  Brittany, 
where  it  belonged  to  an  ancient  and  honorable  family.  One 
of  the  most  distinguished  members  of  this  family,  born  in 
1531,  Francois  de  la  Noue,  known  as  the  Iron-armed  (Bras  de 
fer),  deserved  to  be,  if  he  were  not,  an  ancestor  of  the  Gene- 
ral. "He  was,"  says  Moreri,  "not  only  un grand  capitaine, 
but  with  talents  for  public  affairs,  and  distinguished  as  much 
by  his  prudence  as  by  his  valor,  in  whatever  situation  he  was 
placed."  He  professed  the  reformed  religion  in  Brittany, 
when  a  young  man.  At  the  taking  of  Fontenay,  he  lost  an 
arm,  and  after  he  replaced  it  by  an  iron  one,  which  served 


*"  Jonathan  Delano  and  his  wife  Amy,  came  from  Dart- 
mouth in  the  County  of  Bristol,  in  his  majesties  province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  settled  in  Tolland  on  ye  8th  day  of 
May,  1722." — Tolland  Records.  He  died  March  25, 1752,  aged 
72  years.  An  interesting  letter  from  Jabez  Delano  of  Dart- 
mouth, to  his  brother  Jonathan  Delano,  at  Tolland,  is  pub- 
lished in  the  Hist,  and  Gen.  Reg.,  vol.  VII.  p.  136. 


Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant.  163 

him  to  guide  his  horse,  he  received  the  name  of  Bras  defer. 
In  the  wars  of  the  Netherlands,  when  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Spaniards  in  1580,  he  was  honored  by  being  held  a  captive  for 
more  than  four  years,  and  at  last  exchanged  for  Count  Eg- 
mont.  He  was  killed  at  the  siege  of  Lamballe,  in  1591. — 
Contributed  by  the  Hon.  J.  Hammond  Trumbull. 

14. — THE  GENEALOGY  OF  THE  FAMILY  OF  GEN- 
ERAL GRANT. 

"  The  sacred  tie  of  family,  which,  reaching 
backward  and  forward,  binds  the  generations  of 
men  together,  and  draws  out  the  plaintive  music 
of  our  being  from  the  solemn  alternation  of  cra- 
dle and  grave,  those  significant  expressions  which 
carry  volumes  of  meaning  in  a  word,  Forefather, 
Parent,  Child,  Posterity,  Native  Land;  these  all 
teach  us,  not  blindly  to  worship,  but  duly  to 
honor  the  past,  to  study  the  lessons  of  experience, 
to  scan  the  high  counsels  of  man  in  his  great 
associations,  as  those  counsels  have  been  devel- 
oped in  constitutions,  in  laws,  in  maxims,  in  tra- 
ditions, in  great  undoubted  principles  of  right 
and  wrong  which  have  been  sanctioned  by  the 
general  consent  of  those  who  have  gone  before 
us."* — Edward  Everett. 

FIRST  GENERATION.— i.  MATTHEW 
GRANT1  was  probably  one  of  the  original  com- 

*For  an  argument  in  favor  of  genealogies,  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  the  first  chapter  of  Saint  Matthew,  in  which  he  will 
find  recorded  "  the  genealogy  of  Christ." 


164  Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant. 

pany  who  sailed  from  Plymouth,  England,  in  the 
Mary  and  John,  and  landing  at  Nantasket,  May 
30,  1630,  settled  at  Dorchester,  Massachusetts. 
He  was  made  a  freeman  at  Dorchester,  in  1631. 
He  removed  to  Windsor,  Connecticut,  with  the 
very  earliest,  in  October,  1635,  and  was  the  sec- 
ond town  clerk  there ;  also  the  first,  and  for  many 
years — more  than  forty — the  principal  surveyor. 

He  was  born  Tuesday,  October  27,  1601, 
and  married  Nov.  16,  1625,  his  first  wife  Pris- 
cilla,  who  died  April  27,  1644,  aged  43  years  2 
Tionths.  He  married,  secondly,  Susannah,  wid- 
ow of  William  Rockwell,  May  29,  1645,  in 
Windsor.  She  was  born  Monday,  April  5, 
1602,  and  died  Nov.  14, 1666.  Her  children  by 
Mr.  Rockwell  are  given  on  page  i  oo.  "  Mat- 
thew Grant,  Recorder,"  died  Dec.  16,  1681,  hav- 
ing for  four  years  preceding  resided  with  his  son 
John.  His  will  and  the  inventory  of  his  effects 
are  given  on  pages  153-4. 

The  children  of  Matthew  Grant,  by  his  first 
wife  Priscilla,  were : 

2,  Priscilla  2,  b.  Sept.  14,  1626;  m.  Oct.  14,  1647,  Mi- 
chael Humphreys. 

3  j  SAMUELS  b.  in  Dorchester,*  Mass.  Nov.  12,  1631; 
married  Mary  Porter,  May  27,  1658. 

*  Extracts  from  the  Windsor  Church  Record,  written  by 
Matthew  Grant. 

"  John  Porter  came  from  Ingland  and  settled  in  Windsor 
in  1639. 

His  daughter  Mary  was  Borne  July  17,  1653." 


Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant.  165 

4,  Tahan,9  b.  in  Dorchester,  Mass.,  Feb.  3,  1633,  d.  May 
1693;  m.  Jan.  22,   1662,  Hannah  Palmer;  m.  2d,  Hannah 
Bissel,  probably  in  1690- 

5,  John,*  b.  in  Windsor,   April    30,   1642;  m-  Aug.    r, 
1666,  Mary  Hull. 

SECOND  GENERATION.—  3.  SAMUEL 
GRANT2  was  born  in  Dorchester,  Massachusetts, 
Nov.  12,  1631.  He  came  with  his  father, 
Matthew  Grant,  to  Windsor,  in  1635.  He  was 
u  made  free  "  at  the  General  Court,  May  1  8, 
1654.  Matthew  Grant  gave  his  lands,  "  without. 
the  east  bounds  of  Windsor,"  in  February  1674, 
'75  to  his  sons  Samuel  and  John.  Samuel  Grant 
settled,  about  this  time,  on  these  lands  which  are 
situated  on  the  little  eminence  in  the  rear  of  the 
East  Windsor  Theological  Institute.  This  is 
the  old  homestead  of  the  Grants  and  is  still  in 
the  possession  of  the  family,  being  the  residence 
of  Major  Frederic  William  Grant.  SamueP 
married  Mary  Porter,*  of  Windsor,  May  27, 
1658. 


"  Samuel  Grant  was  Borne,  November  ye  12,  1631,  in  Dor- 
chester.    He  was  married  to  Mary  Porter,  May  27,  1658. 
His  sonn  Samuell  Grant  was  Borne,  Aprell  20,  1659.'' 
********** 

"  Samuel  Grant  was  married  to  Anna  filley,  Desember  6, 
1683." 

"  His  daughter  Anna  was  born  Septembre  2,  1684." 

Contributed  by  Hon.  J.  H.  Trumbull. 

*  Daughter  of  the  above  mentioned  John  Porter,  who  was 
a  prominent  man  of  ancient  Windsor  (Stiles).  He  died  in 
1648  ;  his  name  does  not  appear  therefore  in  the  list  of  free 
men  given  on  page  105.  John  Bliss  Porter,  M.D.,  of  Coven- 


1 66  Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant. 

The  children  of  Samuel  Grant2  and  Mary 
his  wile,  were  : 

6,  SAMUELS  b.  April  20,  i659;d.  May  8,  1710;  m.  1st 
Hannah  Filley,  Dec.  6,  1683  who  died  April  18,  1686;  m. 
zd,  Grace  Minor. 

7,  John3,  b.  April  24,  1664;  d.  July  1695  ;  m.  June   5, 
1690,  Elizabeth  Skinner,  and  had  John4,  b.  March  3,  1690-1. 

8,  Matthew,  b.  Sept.  22,    1666,    m.  Hannah    Chapman, 
Oct.  i,  1690. 

9,  Josiah3,  the  progenitor  of  most  of  the  Grant  family  in 
Eastern  Connecticut;  b.  March  19,  1668  ;  was  at  E.  W.  in 
1693;  removed    to  Stonington    1695    or  6 ;  d.    March   28, 
1732  ;  married  at  S.  July  8,  1696,  Rebecca, 'dau.  of  Ephraim 
and  Hannah  (Avery)  Minor,  and  had  Josiah4,  John4,Oliver4> 
Noah4,*  and  Minor4;  she  d.  Jan.  15,  1746-7,  aged  75. 

10,  Nathaniel3,  b.  April  14,  1672;  m.   May    16,    1689, 
Bethiah  Warner. 

11,  Mary3,  b.  Jan.  23,  1675. 

12,  Sarah3,  b.  Jan.  19,  1678. 

13,  Abigail3,  m.  April  1704,  Dr.  S.  Mather. 

THIRD  GENERATION.  — 6.  SAMUEL 
GRANTS,  was  born  at  the  home  of  the  Pioneer 
in  Windsor,  April  20,  1659.  He  died  May 
8,  1710.  The  inscription  on  his  tombstone, 

try,  Conn,  late  Surgeon  U.  S  A.,  an  able  contributor  to  this 
work,  is  a  great  grandson  of  Thomas  Porter,  the  first  of  the 
name  in  Coventry,  who  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Porter,  of  Had- 
ley,  and  Hannah  Stanley,  descended  from  John  Porter  and  Rose, 
his  wife,  of  Windsor.  General  Peter  Buell  Porter  was  also 
probably  a  descendant  from  John  Porter. 

*  Noah4,  b.  Jan.  13,  1705-6;  m.  Rachel  and  had,  in 

North  Stonington 

Noah,  b.  Oct.  9,  1730,  so  that  this  name  was  a  favorite  one 
in  both  branches  of  the  family.  Hon.  J.  H.  T. 


Genealogy  of  Gen.   Grant.  167 

which  has  been  copied  by  Maj.  F.  W.  Grant  is 
as  follows ;  "  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Samuel 
Grant,  son  of  Samuel  Grant,  who  died  May  8, 
1710,  aged  51  years."  He  married  first,  Han- 
nah Filley,  of  Windsor,  Dec.  6,  1683,  who  died 
April  18,  1686,  and  second,  Grace,  daughter  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  [Booth]  Minor,  of  Stratford, 
April  11,  1688.  John  Minor  was  the  son  of 
Lieut.  Thomas  Minor,  of  Stonington,  and  Grace 
Minor,  his  wife,  daughter  of  Walter  Palmer  of 
[Charlestown  and  Rehoboth,  Mass.,  and]  Ston- 
ington, Conn.* 

Samuel  Grant3,  by  his  first  wife  Hannah  -j-  had 

14,  Sarah4,  b.  Sept.  2,  1684.    By  his  second  wife,  Grace, 
his  children  were  : 

15,  Hannah4,  b.  March  28,  1689  ;  m.  April.  1712,  John 
Gaylord. 

1 6,  Samuel4,  b.  Sept.  19,    1691,  the  inscription  on  his 
tombstone,  at  E.  W.  copied  by   Maj.  Grant  is  "  Here  lyeth 
the  body  of  Samuel  Grant  who  died  April  7,    1751,  aged  60 
years." 

17,  NoAH4,  b.  Dec.  1 6,  1692  ;  m.  June  12,  1717,  Mar- 
tha Huntington. 

1 8,  Abigail4,  b.  Dec.  15,  1695. 

19,  Ephraim4  $  b.  Aug.  24,  1698. 

*  Notes  of  Hon.  J.  H.  Trumbull. 

f  Both  mother  and  daughter's  name  is  Anna  in  Old  Church 
Rec.  Stiles. 

J  Capt.  Ephraim,  bro'r  of  (u/)  Noah,  of  Tolland.  Captain 
of  Military  Company  of  Tolland,  May,  1751,  Oct.  1756. 

His  son  Ephraim,  born  1726,  was  Lieutenant  of  the  same 
company  in  1774-75. 

His  son  Ebenezer,  born  1756,  was  a  private  in  1775.  He 
enlisted,  May  5,  1775,  in  Capt.  Solomon  Wills's  Company, 


i68  Genealogy  of  Gen.   Grant. 

20,  Grace4,  b.  Aug.  17,  1701. 

21,  David4,  b.  Dec.   10,  1703;  m.  Dec.    21,  1727,  Eli- 
zabeth Chapman. 

22,  Captain  Ebenezer4,  b.    Oct.    1706;  resided  at    East 
Windsor;  m.  Nov.  10,  1737,  Anne  Ellsworth  who  d.  Feb.  I, 
1790,  in  6pth  year  ;  chosen  Captain  of  E.  W.  military  com- 
panies   1752,  children,  Anna5 ;  Eunice5,  Ebenezer5,  Rebekah5, 
Captain  Roswell  *5,  b.  March  9,  1746,  d.  Dec.  31,  1834,  fa- 
ther of  Major  Frederic  William    Grant6,    of  E.    W.    Hill ; 
Anne5 ;  Eunice5. 

FOURTH  GENERATION.— 17.  NOAH 

GRANT4,  was  born  at  the  homestead  in  East 
Windsor,  Dec.  16,  1692.  He  married  June  12, 
1717,  Martha  Huntington,  bom  Dec.  9,  1696, 
daughter  of  John  and  Abigail  (Lathrop)  Hunt- 
ington, of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  a  family  which 
has  had  several  distinguished  members.^  In 

(Jos.  Spencer's  Regiment),  and  was  in  service,  near  Boston 
until  Dec.  17,  1775,  7  months  5  days.  Contributed  by  Hon. 
J.  H.  Trumbull. 

*  Captain  Roswell  Grant  of  East  Windsor,  was  one  of  the 
commissaries  of  brigade  of  the  continental  army,  appointed 
by  the  Connecticut  Legislature  in  October,  1780,  and  served 
two  years.  He  was  also  Pay-Master  and  Judge  Advocate. 
He  received  a  pension  for  such  services  from  the  government. 
He  and  his  father,  Captain  Ebenezer  Grant,  were  graduates 
of  Yale  College  and  were  prominent  men  in  East  Windsor. 
Major  Frederic  William  Grant  was  born  December  12,  1797, 
and  is  the  youngest  of  eight  children.  He  has  only  one 
brother  alive,  Mr.  P.  Winthrop  Grant,  who  resides  in  Con- 
neaut,  Ohio,  and  is  seventy-five  years  of  age. 

f  Samuel  Huntington,  a  descendant  of  this  family,  was  one 
of  the  first  Supreme  Court  Judges  and  Second  Governor  of 
Ohio.  "  Governor  Huntington  used  to  call  on  my  father, 
sixty-four  years  ago,  and  they  claimed  to  be  cousins."  Jesse 
R.  Grant,  Esq.  Seth  Hastings  Grant,  Esq.,  of  New  York  City, 
is  descended  from  Josiah  Grant4,  whose  family  is  mentioned 
in  the  History  of  Windsor.  Mr.  S.  H.  Grant's  descent  is  in 
the  line,  (4)  Josiah,  (5)  Increase,  (6)  William,  (7)  Asahel,  (8) 
Seth  Hastings.  Stiles'  Windsor,  p.  635. 


Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant.  169 

April,  1713,  lots  were  set  out,  by  the  committee 
of  the  town  of  Windsor  to  Noah  Grant,  and 
others  in  Tolland.  He  had  gone  to  Tolland  to 
reside  "as  early  as  the  beginning  of  1718,  per- 
haps half  a  year  earlier.  He  was  one  of  the  se- 
lectmen of  the  new  town  in  1722,  '24  and  '25. 
He  died  Oct.  16,  1727." 

The  children  of  Noah  Grant4,  and  Mary  his 
wife  were : 

23,  CAPT.  NOAHB,  b.  July  12,  1718  ;  m.  Nov.  5,  1746, 
Susannah  Delano. 

24,  Adoniram5,  b.  Feb.  27,  1721. 

25,  Lieut.  Solomon5,  b.  Jan.  29,  1723,  joined  the  Crown 
Point  Expedition,  was  killed  on  a  scouting  party,  near    Wil- 
liamstown,  Mass,  about  June  25,  1756,  see  page  158. 

26,  Martha5,  b.  June  9,  1726. 

FIFTH  GENERATION.— 23.  CAP- 
TAIN NOAH  GRANTS  was  born  at  Grant's  Hill, 
in  Tolland,  Connecticut,  July  12,  1718.  He 
married  Nov.  5,  1746,  Susannah,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  Delano, *  of  Tolland,  a  descendant 
from  Philip  De  La  Noye,  who  came  to  Ply- 
mouth in  1621,  from  Leyden.f  He  removed 
about  1750  to  the  adjoining  town  of  Coventry. 
He  and  his  brother  Solomon  joined  the  expe- 
dition against  Crown  Point  in  1755.  He  was 
the  comrade  of  Putnam,  Stark,  and  Rodgers, 

*  The  Hon.  Columbus  Delano,  late  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  Congress,  from  Ohio,  is  a  descendant  of  this 
family.  Jesse  R.  Grant,  Esq. 

f  See  page  161. 

9 


170  Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant. 

at  Lake  George.  He  served  with  great  dis- 
tinction, and  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy. 
He  was  killed  while  out  with  a  scouting  party 
from  Fort  William  Henry,  Sept.  20,  1756. 

The  children  of  Captain  Noah  Grant 5  and 
Susannah  were  : 

27.  CAPTAIN  NOAH  ",  b.  June  20,  1748;  m.  1st,  Mrs. 
Anna  Richardson ;  she  died,  and  then  he  m.   2nd,  Rachel 
Kelly. 

28.  Peter.  ' 


SIXTH  GENERATION.— 27.  CAP- 
TAIN NOAH  GRANT  6  was  born  in  Tolland, 
Connecticut,  June  20,  1748  ;  he  died  at  Mays- 
ville,  Kentucky,  Feb.  14,  1819.  He  married, 
first,  Mrs.  Anna  (Buell*)  Richardson,  and 
after  her  decease,  which  was  about  the  year 
1787  or  1788,  he  married,  in  Westmoreland 
County,  Pennsylvania,  March  4,  1792,  Rachel 
Kelly.  She  died  in  Deerfield,  Ohio,  April  10, 
1 805.  Captain  Grant  enlisted  at  the  first  call  for 
troops  for  Lexington,  and  served  through  most 
of  the  revolution.  He  removed  about  1790 
to  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania;  after- 
ward to  Liverpool,  Columbiana  county,  and 
again  to  Deerfield,  Portage  County,  in  the 
State  of  Ohio. 


*  Probably  descended  frcm    the   pioneer  William   Buell  a» 
Windsor  ;  his  son  Peter  settled  in  Simsbury,  see  page   106. 


Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant.  171 

The   children    of   Captain    Noah   Grant 6. 
and  Anna  his  wife,  were  : 

29.  Solomon  7,  b.  about  1779;    remained  in  Coventry, 
with  his  grandfather  Bucll ;  was  well  educated,  and  at  twenty 
years  of  age  went  to  the  island  of  Demerara,  as  overseer  on  a 
sugar  plantation  ;  not  heard  from,  after  1798,  and  is  supposed 
to  have  fallen  a  victim  to  the  climate. 

30.  Peter  7,   b.    Nov.  4,   1781;  settled  in   Kentucky  in 
1802  ;  married,  and  had  ten  children  ;  was  drowned  Jan.  10, 
1829  ;  wa:  very  wealthy ;  but  three  of  his  children  now  liv- 
ing, they  lost  their  property,  and,  many  of  them,  their  lives 
in  the  rebellion,  which  they  favored. 

The   children    of   Captain  Noah  Grant 6, 
and  Rachel,  his  second  wife,  are  : 

31.  Susan7,  b.    Dec.   7,   1792;    m.  Bailey  Hudson,  in 
1815  ;  they  had  six  children,  Silas  A.8,  appointed  Minister  to 
Guatemala,  1869;    Noah  e,  Bailey  *,  promoted  in  the   regu- 
lar army  for  gallant  services    during  the    Mexican  war,  and 
was    afterward   killed    by   the  Indians ;     John  ",  still  living, 
Peter  9,  served  a  good  part  of  the  late  war  on  Gen.  Grant's 
staff  with  the  rank  of  Lieut.  Col.  and  was  a  gallant  officer.  Mr. 
Hudson  died  in   1825;    two  years  after  she    married  Henry 
Grimes  and  has  had  two   more  children.       They  are  living 
now  in  California,  she  in  her  77th  year  and  he  about  80. 

32.  JESSE  ROOT,  \  b.  Jan.  23,  1794 ;  in.  June  24,  1821, 
Hannah  Simpson. 

33.  Margaret  B.,  '  b.  Oct.  23,  1/95. 

34.  Noah  B.7  b.  Nov.   1797,  d.  Jan.  10,  1821  ;   had  five 
children,  one  died  in  the  confederate  army. 

35.  John  Kelly  7,  b.  June  2,  1799  ;  accumulated  proper- 
ty, travelled  much,  and  d.  in  Texas,   Jan.   23,  1832. 

36.  Roswell    B.7  b.    Jan.    10,   1802;  lived,    from  early 
boyhood    in  Kentucky    and  Virginia ;  married    three    times, 


172  Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant. 

and  has  three  children  by  his  first  wife  ;  favored  the  rebel- 
lion ;  still  living. 

37.  Rachel  B.7  b.  Sept.  10,  1803;  m.  William  Tomp- 
kins  about  40  years  ago,  and  settled  in  West  Virginia,  at 
Charleston,  on  the  Kanawha  River;  Mr.  Tompkins  died 
l 2  years  ago,  leaving  his  wife  wealthy,  with  eight  children,  the 
youngest  of  age  ;  all  favored  secession;  she  lost  $100,000  by 
the  war ;  she  is  still  living. 

SEVENTH  GENERATION.  -  32. 
JESSE  ROOT  GRANT7  was  born  January  23,  1794, 
in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  near 
Greensburg,  and  twenty  miles  above  Pittsburg, 
on  the  Monongahela  River.  He  was  named 
for  the  Hon.  Jesse  Root  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  Connecticut.  He  married 
Hannah  Simpson  June  24,  1821,  at  Point 
Pleasant,  Clermont  county,  Ohio.  He  man- 
aged a  tannery  at  Point  Pleasant,  Georgetown, 
and  other  places  in  Ohio,  and,  finally,  was  inter- 
ested in  a  leather  store  at  Galena,  Illinois. 
He  retired  from  business  at  60  years  of  age, 
and  resides  now  at  Covington,  Kentucky.  Al- 
though he  is  in  his  76th  year,  he  is  still 
healthy  and  active,  and  has  been,  for  more 
than  three  years,  the  post-master  of  Cov- 
ington, having  the  charge  of  a  first  class 
post-office  in  a  city  numbering  about  thirty 
thousand  inhabitants. 


Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant.  173 

The  children  of  Jesse  Root  Grant 7,  and 
Hannah,  his  wife,  are  : 

38.  GENERAL  ULYSSES  SIMPSON, 8  b.  April  27, 
1822;  m.  Aug.  22,  1848,  JuliaB.,  daughter  of  Colonel  Fred- 
erick Dent,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

39.  Samuel  Simpson,  8  b.  Sept.   23,   1825;  an  excellent 
man,  well  known  in  the  eastern  cities  as  the   model  merchant 
of  Galena  ;  d.  in  Minnesota  Sept.  13,  1861. 

40.  Clara  B.8  b.  Dec.  n,  1828;  d.  March  6,  1865. 

41.  Virginia   Paine,  *  b.  Feb.  20,   1832,  m.  May    13, 
1869,  Hon.  Abel  Rathbone  Corbin,  of  New  York  City. 

42.  Orville  Lynch8  b.  May  15,  1835,  m.  Mary  Medary, 
April,   1857;  a  leather  and  saddlery  merchant  at  Chicago, 
Illinois ;    has  four  children,  Harry  9,  Simpson ',  Jesse   Root ' 
and  Virginia  9. 

43.  Mary  Frances;  8  b.,  Julv  30,  1839,  m.  Nov.  1863, 
the  Rev.  M.  J.  Creamer ;  he  is  the  consul  at  Leipsic,  Ger- 
many ;  he  has  one  young  child,  Clara  Virginia. 

EIGHTH  GENERATION.— 38.  GEN- 
ERAL ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT  8  was  born 
April  27,  1822,  at  Point  Pleasant,  Clermont 
County,  Ohio.  He  married  Aug.  22,  1848, 
Julia  B.,  daughter  of  Colonel  Frederick  Dent, 
of  the  ancient  family  of  that  name  from  White- 
haven,  Maryland.  The  family  had  an  old 
home  in  Maryland,  which  was  granted  to  his 
ancestors  by  King  Charles.  Colonel  Dent, 
now  eighty-one  years  of  age,  is  living  with 
General  Grant  at  Washington.  Ulysses  S. 
Grant  was  entered  a  cadet  at  the  Military  Ac- 
ademy, in  1839,  Bvt.  Sec.  Lieut.  4th  Inf.  July 


174  Genealogy  of  Gen.  Grant. 

1,  1843.     In   Mexican  War,   1846,  '48,  Bvt. 
First  Lieut.,  forMolino  del  Rey,  Sept.  8,  1847, 
Bvt.  Gapt.   for    Chapultepec,    Sept.   13,    1847, 
resigned  as  Captain   1854.     Colonel  2ist  Ills., 
June  17,  1861,  Brig.  Gen.  U.  S.  Vols.  May  17, 
1861,  Maj.  Gen.  U.  S.  Vols.  for  Fort  Donelson, 
Feb.  16,  1862,  Maj.  Gen.  U.  S.  Army,  July  4, 
1863,  for  Vicksburg,  Lieut.  Gen.  U.S.A.  March 

2,  1864,  Battle  of  Chattanooga.     Surrender  of 
Lee  at  Appomattox  C.   H.  April  9,  1865. 

GENERAL*  UNITED  STATES  ARMY,  July  25,  1866. 

PRESIDENT    OF    THE 
UNITED    STATES. 

MARCH  4,  1869. 

The  children  of  General  Ulysses  Simpson 
Grant 8  and  Julia  his  wife,  are  : 

44,  Frederick  Dent9  b.   May  30,  1850;  a  cadet  at  West 
Point. 

45,  Ulysses  Simpson9,  an  amiable  youth  of  much  promise. 

46,  Ellen,9  an  interesting  daughter. 

47,  Jesse  Root,'  "  decidedly    the  most  promising  of  the 
family,"  his  grand-father  says. 

*George  Washington  was  the  only  citizen  of  the  United  States 
besides  General  Grant,  upon  whom  this  title  has  been  conferred. 
Scott  received  no  higher  title  than  Lieutenant-General.  See  Gard- 
ner's Army  Dictionary.  For  the  services  of  Gen.  Grant,  see 
Cullum's  Reg'r  of  Military  Academy.  The  Hon.  Richard  A. 
Wheeler,  of  Stonington,  Connecticut,  prepared  the  fifst  entire 
genealogy  of  the  family  of  General  Grant  which  was  revised  by 
John  Ward  Dean,  Esq.  of  Boston,  and  published  in  the  Geneal- 


Gen.  Grants  Inaugural.  175 

15. — THE  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  OF  GENERAL 
GRANT.* 

CITIZENS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES: — Your  suffrages  having 
elected  me  to  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  I  have, 
in  conformity  with  the  Constitution  of  our  country,  taken  the 
oath  of  office  prescribed  therein.  I  have  taken  this  oath  without 
mental  reservation,  and  with  the  determination  to  do,  to  the  best 
of  my  ability,  all  that  it  requires  of  me. 

The  responsibilities  of  the  position  I  feel,  but  accept  them 
without  fear.  The  office  has  come  to  me  unsought;  I  com- 
mence its  duties  untrammeled.  I  bring  to  it  a  conscientious 
desire  and  determination  to  fill  it,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  people.  On  all  leading  questions  agitating  the 
public  mini  I  will  always  express  my  views  to  Congress,  and 
urge  them  according  to  my  judgment,  and  when  I  think  it 
advisable,  will  execute  the  constitutional  privilege  of  interposing 
a  veto  to  defeat  measures  which  I  oppose.  But  all  laws  will  be 
faithfully  executed,  whether  they  meet  my  approval  or  not. 

I  shall  on  all  subjects  have  a  policy  to  recommend,  none  to 
enforce  against  the  will  of  the  people.  Laws  are  to  govern  all 
alike — those  opposed  to  as  well  as  those  in  favor  of  them.  I 
know  no  method  to  secure  the  repeal  of  bad  or  obnoxious  laws 
so  effective  as  their  stringent  execution. 

The  country  having  just  emerged  from  a  great  rebellion,  many 
questions  will  come  before  it  for  settlement  in  the  next  four 

ogical  Register.  It  was  a  continuation  of  the  notes  which  are 
given  in  Stiles'  Windsor.  The  above  is  a  new  and  careful  revi- 
sion of  this  genealogy,  much  enlarged,  from  information  furnish- 
ed by  Jesse  R.  Grant,  Esq.,  Hon.  J.  H.  Trumbull,  of  Hartford, 
Dr.  Porter,  of  Coventry,  Mr.  Wheeler,  and  others. 

*  General  Grant  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  President  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  Capitol,  Washington,  at  12  o'clock,  noon, 
March  4,  1869. 


176  Gen.  Grant's  Inaugural. 

years,  which  preceding  Administrations  have  nevei  had  to  deal 
with.  In  meeting  these,  it  is  desirable  that  they  should  be  appre- 
ciated calmly,  without  prejudice,  hate,  or  sectional  pride,  remem- 
bering that  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number  is  the  object 
to  be  attained.  This  requires  security  of  person  and  property, 
and  for  religious  and  political  opinion  in  every  part  of  our  com- 
mon country  without  regard  to  local  prejudice.  All  laws  to 
secure  this  end  will  receive  my  best  efforts  for  their  enforcement. 

A  great  debt  has  been  contracted  in  securing  to  us  and  our 
posterity  the  Union.  The  payment  of  this  principal  and  interest, 
as  well  as  the  return  to  a  specie  basis  as  soon  as  it  can  be  ac- 
complished, without  material  detriment  to  the  debtor  class  or  to 
the  country  at  large,  must  be  provided  for. 

To  protect  the  national  honor,  every  dollar  of  the  Govern- 
ment indebtedness  should  be  paid  in  gold,  unless  otherwise 
expressly  stipulated  in  the  contract.  Let  it  be  understood  that  no 
•  epudiator  of  one  farthing  of  our  public  debt  will  be  trusted  in 
public  places,  and  it  will  go  far  toward  strengthening  a  credit 
which  ought  to  be  the  best  in  the  world,  and  will  ultimately 
enable  us  to  replace  the  debt  with  bonds  bearing  less  interest  than 
we  now  pay.  To  this  shall  be  added  a  faithful  collection  of  the 
revenue ;  a  strict  accountability  to  the  Treasury  for  every  dollar 
collected,  and  the  greatest  practicable  retrenchment  in  expendi- 
tures in  every  department  of  Government. 

When  we  compare  the  paying  capacity  of  the  country  now, 
with  ten  States  still  in  poverty  from  the  effects  of  the  war,  but 
soon  to  emerge,  I  trust,  into  greater  prosperity  than  ever  before, 
with  its  paying  capacity  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  calculate  what 
it  probably  will  be  twenty-five  years  hence,  who  can  doubt  the 
feasibility  of  paying  every  dollar  then  with  more  ease  than  we 
now  pay  for  useless  luxuries  ?  Why,  it  looks  as  though  Provi- 
dence had  bestowed  upon  us  a  strong  box,  the  precious  metals 
locked  up  in  the  sterile  mountains  of  the  far  West,  which  we 


Gen.   Grant's  Inaugural,  177 

are  now  forging  the  key  to  unlock,  to  meet  the  very  contingency 
that  is  now  upon  us. 

Ultimately  it  may  be  necessary  to  increase  the  facilities  to 
reach  these  riches,  and  it  may  be  necessary  also  that  the  General 
Government  should  give  its  aid  to  secure  this  access.  But  that 
should  only  be  when  a  dollar  of  obligation  to  pay  secures  pre- 
cisely the  same  sort  of  dollar  in  use  now,  and  not  before. 

While  the  question  of  specie  payments  is  in  abeyance,  the  pru- 
dent business  man  is  careful  about  contracting  debts  payable  in 
the  distant  future  j  the  nation  should  follow  the  same  rule.  A  pros- 
trate commerce  is  to  be  rebuilt,  and  all  industries  encouraged. 
The  young  men  of  the  country — those  who  form  this  age  and 
must  be  rulers  twenty-five  years  hence — have  a  peculiar  interest 
in  maintaining  the  national  honor.  A  moment's  reflection  upon 
what  will  be  our  commanding  influence  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth  in  their  day,  if  they  are  only  true  to  themselves,  should 
inspire  them  with  national  pride.  All  divisions,  geographical, 
political,  and  religious,  can  join  in  the  common  sentiment. 

How  the  public  debt  is  to  be  paid,  or  specie  payment  resumed, 
is  not  so  important  as  that  a  plan  should  be  adopted  and  acqui- 
esced in.  A  united  determination  to  do  is  worth  more  than 
divided  counsels  upon  the  method  of  doing.  Legislation  on 
this  subject  may  not  be  necessary  now,  nor  even  advisable,  but 
it  will  be  when  the  civil  law  is  more  fully  restored  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  and  trade  resumes  its  wonted  channels.  It  will  be 
my  endeavor  to  execute  all  laws  in  good  faith,  to  collect  all 
revenues  assessed,  and  to  have  them  properly  disbursed.  T  will, 
to  the  best  of  my  ability,  appoint  to  office  only  those  who  will 
carry  out  this  design. 

In  regard  to  foreign  policy,  I  would  deal  with  nations  as 
equitable  law  requires  individuals  to  deal  with  each  other,  and  I 
would  protect  the  law-abiding  citizen,  whether  of  native  or  of 
foreign  birth,  wherever  his  rights  are  jeopardized  or  the  flag  of 


178  Gen.  Grant's  Inaugural. 

our  country  floats.  I  would  respect  the  rights  of  all  nations, 
demanding  equal  respect  for  our  own.  If  others  depart  from 
this  rule  in  their  dealings  with  us,  we  may  be  compelled  to  follow 
their  precedent. 

The  proper  treatment  of  the  original  occupants  of  the  land, 
the  Indians,  is  one  deserving  of  careful  consideration.  I  will 
favor  any  course  toward  them  which  tends  to  their  civilization, 
Christianization  and  ultimate  citizenship. 

The  question  of  suffrage  is  one  which  is  likely  to  agitate  the 
public  so  long  as  a  portion  of  the  citizens  of  the  nation  are  ex- 
cluded from  its  privileges  in  any  State.  It  seems  to  me  very 
desirable  that  this  question  should  be  settled  now,  and  I  enter- 
tain the  hope  and  express  the  desire  that  it  may  be  by  the  ratifi- 
cation of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution. 

In  conclusion,  I  ask  patient  forbearance  one  toward  another, 
throughout  the  land,  and  a  determined  effort  on  the  part  of  every 
citizen  to  do  his  share  toward  cementing  a  happy  union,  and  I 
ask  the  prayers  of  the  nation  to  Almighty  God  in  behalf  of  this 
happy  consummation. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Allyn  Alexander,  5. 
Allyn,  Mr.  Matthew,  105. 
Alvord  Benedict,  105. 
Appleton,  Major,  23. 
Arabella,  8. 
Astor  Library,  43. 
Baker  Samuel,  105. 
Baldwin,  Hon.  Roger  S.  5 1 . 
Barber  John,  105. 
Barber  Thomas,  1 06. 
Bartlett  John,  18,  105. 
Beardsley  Aaron,  155. 
Beecher,  Rev.  Lyman,  34. 
Beekman  Mansion,  48. 
Beekman  William,  98. 
Belknap  Jesse,  155. 
Bingham  John,  155. 
Bissell,  Gov.  Clark,  107. 
Birge  Jonathan,  155. 
Bissell  Nathaniel,  28. 
Bissell  Ozias,  155. 
Boardman  Nathaniel,  155. 
Boggs  &  Grant,  77. 
Boler,  70. 

Bradford,  Captain,  23. 
Brown  Peter,  105. 
Buckland  Timothy,  18,   105. 
Buell  Benjamin,  160. 
Buell,  General  Don  Carlos,  34. 
Buell  Elias,  160. 


Buell  Matthew,  45. 
Buell  Peter,  34,  106. 
Buell  Samuel,  34,  160. 
Buell  William,  105. 
Bunker  Hill,  47. 
Burnham  Thomas,  105. 
Cambridge,  47,  103. 
Cass  John,  106. 
Carpenter,  56. 
Chambers  John,  155. 
Champion  Henry,  55. 
Chapman  Edward,  24,    105. 
Chapman  Jonah,  155. 
Chauncey  Elihu,  156. 
Chauncey,  Rev.  Mr.  126. 
Clark,  Mr.  Daniel,  105. 
Cleveland,  General  Moses,  55, 

57- 

Coggerynosset,  18. 
Colburn  Zebadiah,  157. 
Collins  E.  A.,  68. 
Colt  John,  105. 
Connecticut  Reserve,  53,  54. 
Cooke  Nathaniel,  105. 
Cooper  Fenimore,  24. 
Cooper  Solomon,  155. 
Covington,  69. 
Craig-Ellachie,  3,  89. 
Cromwell,  131. 
Crow  Christopher,  105. 


i8o 


Index. 


Crown  Point,  36,  41. 
Darling  Jedediah,  155. 
Dart  Nathaniel,  155. 
Davenport,  Captain,  23. 
Davis  Richard,  155. 
Day  Lewis,  58. 
Dcerfield,  58,  64. 
Delano  Jonathan,  35,  162. 
Delano      Susannah,     35,  44, 

169. 
De  La  Noye  Philip,  35,  161, 

169. 

Denslow  Henry,  105. 
Denslow  Nicholas,  99. 
Dent,  Colonel  Frederick,  1 73. 
Dent  Julia  B.,  173. 
Dibble  Ebenezer,  24. 
Dibble  Thomas,  105,  153. 
Dieskau,  Baron,  37,  43. 
Diver  Daniel,  59. 
Dodge  Alexander,  155. 
Dodge  John,  155. 
Dodge,    Hon.      William    E, 

146. 

Dorchester,  8,  9,  12. 
Drake  Jacob,  16,  19,  105. 
Dunham  David,  155. 
Dutch  The,  132. 
Dyer  George,  99. 
Eastman  Jonathan,  157. 
Eaton  William,  32,  155. 
Edward  Fort,     36,  38,    39, 

41. 
Edwards,  Rcv.Jonathan,D.D. 


Edwards ,      Rev.    Timothy, 

141. 

Eggleston  Begat,  105. 
Ellsworth,  Chief  Justice,  107, 

128. 

Ellsworth  Josiah,  105,   107. 
Ellsworth  Thomas,  155. 
Elmore  Edward,  105. 
Eno  Amos  R.,  112,   137. 
Eno,  James,  105,  109. 
Eno  &  Phelps,  137. 
Eno  Gen.  Roger,  112. 
Fairchild  Caleb,  161. 
Farmington  River,  133. 
Filley  Daniel,  155. 
Filley  Hannah,  28,  166,  167. 
Filley  Samuel,  106. 
Filley  William,  105. 
Fire  Lands,  54. 
Fish  William,  105. 
Fitch  John,  24,  113. 
Fitch,  Mr.  Joseph,   105,113. 
Fitch,  Lieut.    Medina,     43, 

155- 

Foote,  Commodore,  80. 
Ford  Thomas,  99,  105. 
Frost  Green,  58. 
Fuller  Lot,  155. 
Fyler  Walter,  105. 
Galena,  68. 
Gallop,  Captain,  23. 
Gallop,  Mr.  99. 
Gardner,  Captain,  23. 
Gates,  Lieut.  Josiah,  155- 
Gaylord  William,  99,  105. 


Index. 


181 


Georgetown,  67. 
Gibbs  Giles,  99. 
Gibbs  Jacob,  105. 
Gibbs  Michael,  59. 
Gillette  Jonathan,  105. 
Glcnelg,  Baron,  4,  90,  92. 
Glcnmoriston,  87. 
Gorham,  Captain,  23. 
Granniss  George  B.,  114. 
Grant,  Lieut.  Benoni,  49. 
Grant  Castle,  91. 
Grants,  Clan  of,  85. 
Grant,    Capt.    Ebcnezcr,  31, 

36,  39,  168. 

Grant,  Capt.  Ephraim,  167. 
Grant,  Maj.  F.  W.,  31,  168. 
Grant's  Hill,  31. 
Grant,  Gen.  James,  94. 
Grant  Jesse,  49. 
Grant  Jesse  Root,  63,  172. 
Grant  John,  The  Bard,  90. 
Grant    Matthew,    3,    6,   13, 

25,    99,    100,    105,  106, 

163. 

Grant  Noah,  30,  32,  168. 
Grant,    Capt.   Noah,  I..    35, 

39,  42,  45,  155,  169. 
Grant,  Capt.  Noah,  II.,  44, 

45,46,  170. 

Grant,  Capt.   Roswell,  169. 
Grant  Samuel,    26,    28,  165, 

1 66. 

Grant  S.  Hastings,  1 68. 
Grant,  Lieut.    Solomon,    36, 

43,45,61,  156,  159. 


Grantown,  92. 

Grant,    Gen.    Ulysses  S.,   3, 

73,  173- 
Greensburg,  53. 
Gregory  Eliphalet,  114. 
Gregory,  Hon.,  D.  S.  114. 
Griffin  John,  106. 
Griswold  Almon  W.,  114. 
Griswold  Bishop,   1 14. 
Griswold  Edward,  113,  114. 
Griswold  Francis,  113. 
Griswold    George,    15,  105, 

^  "4- 

Griswold  Matthew,   113,  114, 

149. 

Griswold  Nathaniel  L.,  114. 
Griswold,  Gov.  Roger,  114. 
Hadley,  24. 

Hale,  Capt.  Nathan,  48. 
Hall  Solomon,  155. 
Hall  Timothy,  105. 
Harlem  Heights,  48. 
Hatch  David,  155. 
Hay  den  Daniel,  105,  1 1 6. 
Hayden  Jabez  H.,  117. 
Hayden  Lieut.  Levi,  116. 
Hayden  Nathaniel,  1 1 7. 
Hayden,  Capt.   Sam'l  S.,  118. 
Hayden  William,  114. 
Haynes,  104. 
Hay  ward  Robert,  105. 
Hill  Luke,  1 06. 
Hillyer,  Gen.,  76. 
Hinckley  Ichabod,  155. 
Holcombe  Benajah,   105. 


1 8  2  Index. 

Holcombc  Joshua,  106.  Johnson  Sir  William,  36,  38, 

Holcombe  Thomas,  118.  156. 

Holcombe,   W.    F.,  M.    D.,  Kelly  Rachel,  53,  170. 

1 1 8.  Kennedy,  Lieut.,  42. 

Holmes  William,  10.  Kilbourn  Elijah,  156. 

Homestead,  The  Grant,  94.  Kilbourn  Hezekiah,   155. 
Homestead,     The     Hayden,  Kimball  Hannah,    160. 

97.  Kirby  Ephraim,   55. 
Homestead,  The  Loomis,  97.  Knowlton,  Colonel,  48. 

Hood,  General,  81.  Laud  Archbishop,  150. 

Hooker,  104  Leighton ,    Dr.     Edward, 
Hoosuc,  157.  150. 

Hosford  John,  105.  Levens,  Lieut.  John,  157. 

Hoskins  Anthony,  105.  Lewis  Benjamin,  155. 

Hoskins  John,  99.  Lewis  William  J.,  156. 

Howe,  General,  47.  Lexington,  45. 

Hoyt  Simon,  99.  Liverpool,  54. 

Hubbard  Benjamin,   155.  Loomis  Hezekiah  B.,  121. 

Hubbard  Elisha,  155.  Loomis  Horatio  G.,    122. 

Hull,  7.  Loomis  James  C.,  122. 

Hull,  Mr.,  99.  Loomis  John,   16,   105,  120, 
Humphreys     Michael,    106,        153. 

in,  164.  Loomis,  Col.  John   M.,  122. 

Hunt  James,  156.  Loomis,  Mr.  Joseph,  1 6,  105, 
Huntington  Christopher,  30.         1 19. 

Huntington,   Gen.   Jedediah,  Loomis  Moses,  32. 

30.  Loomis  Nathaniel,  27,  105. 

Huntington  John,  32.  Loomis  Phineas,  123. 

Huntington  Maltha,  30,  168.  Luce  Joseph,  156. 

Huntington  Peter,  155.  Ludlow  Roger, 98,  103,  131. 

Huntington,    Gov.     Samuel,  Lyman  Fort,  36. 

30,  60,  168.  Lyman,  General,  36,  38. 

Johnson,  Captain,  23.  Lyman,  Prof.  S.  C.,  109. 

Johnson  David,  155.  Lyon  Noah,  156. 

Johnson  Samuel  W.,  55.  McClcllan,  Gen.,  76. 


Index. 


183 


McCurdy  Robert  II.,    149. 
Madcsly  John,  105. 
Mahan,  Professor,  83. 
Marshall,  Bvt.   Brig.  Gen.  E. 

G.,I25. 

Marshall,  Capt.  Samuel,  16, 
20,  23,  24,  105,  106,  124. 

Mary  and  John,  7. 

Maskell  Thomas,  106. 

Mason,  Captain,  23. 

Mason,  Capt.  John,  20,  2 1 , 
114. 

Mason,  Hon.  Mr.,  51. 

Massachusetts,  50. 

Massacoe,  106,  129,  132. 

Mather  Cotton,  127. 

Mather,  Gen.  F.  E.,  128. 

Mather  Joseph,  32. 

Mather,  Rev.  Richard,  1 26. 

Mather  Samuel,  55. 

Mather,  Rev.  Samuel,    125. 

Maverick,  Rev.  Mr.,  8,  99. 

Miles  Simon,  105. 

Minor  Grace,    28,  166,  167. 

Minor  Henry,  28. 

Minor,  Capt.  John,  28. 

Minor,  Capt.  Thomas,  28. 

Minot  House,  9. 

Moore  John,  105,  106. 

Morton  William,    105. 

Mosely,  Captain,  23. 

Moses  John,  105,  no,  in. 

Munsell  Joel,  128. 

Nantasket,  7. 

Nassacowen,  19. 


Nassahegan,  17,  133. 
Newbcrry,  Mr.    Bcnj.,  105, 

154. 

Newbcrry  Roger,  55. 
New  Connecticut,  55. 
Nilcs,  Hon.  John  M.,I24. 
Oliver,  Captain,  23. 
Osbon  John,  Sen.,  105. 
Owen  Edward  H.,  129. 
Owen  John,  105,  129. 
Owen,   Rev.   John   J.,    D.D., 

129. 

Owen  Josiah,  156. 
Page  William,    155. 
Palazado  Plot,  21. 
Palmer  Nicholas,  1 06. 
Park  Nathan,  155. 
Parker  Eli,  155. 
Parker  Enos,  156. 
Parsons  Hczckiah,  155. 
Parsons  John  E.,   57. 
Parsons,  Gen.  S.  H.,  57. 
Payson  John,    157. 
Pcarce  Daniel,    156. 
Pease,  Hon.  Elisha  M.,  124. 
Pettibone  John,  106,  129. 
Pcttibone  John  Owen,  130. 
Pettibone,     Col.      Jonathan, 

129. 

Phclps  Alexander,  112. 
Phclps  Anson  G.,  144. 
Phelps,  Dodge  &  Co.,  145. 
Phelps,  Hon.  Elisha,  136. 
Phelps  George,  105,  130. 
Phclps  George  Dvvight,  135. 


184 


Index. 


Phclps  Guy  R.,  135,  139. 
Phelps  Hector,  F.,   135. 
Phelps  I.,   131. 
Phelps  Isaac  N.,  141. 
Phelps  Jeffery  O.,  1 34. 
Phelps  John  J.,  136. 
Phelps  Joseph^  106,   132. 
Phelps,  Gen.  Noah,   134. 
Phelps  Noah  A.,  134. 
Phelps  Oliver,  55. 
Phelps  Royal,  143. 
Phclps  Samuel,  18. 
Phclps,  Mr.  Will-am,  17,  99, 

105,  130. 

Phclps  W.  Walter,  139. 
Philip  King,  22. 
Philips  George,    105. 
Pinney  Humphrey,  105. 
Pinney  Josiah,  156. 
Pinney  Samuel,  106. 
Pitkin  William,  in. 
Point  Pleasant,  65. 
Pond  Nathaniel,  24. 
Pomeroy  Eltwood,  99,  106. 
Poquonnoc,  133. 
Porter  Hezekiah,  32. 
Porter  John,  165. 
Porter  John  Bliss,  M.D.,i65- 
Porter  Mary,  164,  165. 
Porter,   Gen.    Peter  B.,  34, 

1 66. 

Price  Martha,  160. 
Prynne  William,  151. 
Putnam  Israel,     35,   37,    39, 

43>  46>  47>  48- 


Putnam,  General  Rufus,  57« 
Randall  Abraham,  106. 
Ravenna,  64. 
Read  Joshua,  156. 
Reeve  Robert,   in. 
Richardson  Anna,  52,  170. 
Robinson,  Maj.  Gen.  John  C., 

124. 

Rockwell  John,  106, 
Rockwell  Joseph,  31. 
Rockwell  Josiah,  31,  32. 
Rockwell  Ruth,  30. 
Rockwell  Samuel,  32. 
Rockwell  Susannah,  13,  30. 
Rockwell    William,    13,   30,. 

99,  100. 

Rodgers,  Capt.  Robert,  37. 
Rogen  Joseph,   156. 
Root,  Hon.  Jesse,  63,  171. 
Root,     Rev.      Marvin,      45, 

158. 

Root  Rufus,   156. 
Rossiter,  Dr.  Bray,  13. 
Rossiter,  Mr.,  98. 
Rowley  Thomas,   106. 
Russ  Daniel,  156. 
Savage,  Lieut.,  23. 
Saxton  Richard,  24. 
Scots'  Charitable  Society,  5. 
Scott,  General,  174. 
Scovell  Abner,  156. 
Seafield,  Earl  of,    4,  85,   90, 

91.  92- 

Sceley,  Captain,  23,  115. 
Sehat,  17,  133. 


Index. 


185 


Senchon  Nicholas,    106. 
Sequassen,  133. 
Scy  Solomon,  156. 
Sheldon  &  Phdps,  if 2. 
Sherman,   104. 
Sherman,  General,  80. 
Shield  John,  155. 
Simon  James,  156. 
Simpson  Hannah,  65,  172. 
Simsbury ,     16,      106,    129, 

132. 

Skinner  Abraham,  49. 
Skinner  Joseph,  106. 
Slafcer  Anthony,  32. 
Slap,  Capt.  John,  157. 
Smith,  Mr.,  99. 
Smith  George,  156. 
Southwark  Church,  7. 
Sparks  Joseph,  156. 
Stark,  Lieut.  John,  41,  43,  46. 
St.  Clair,  General,  61. 
Stedman  James,  in. 
Steele,  104. 

Steel,  Rev.  Stephen,  33. 
Stiles,     Rev.      Ezra,    LL.D. 

I47. 

Stiles  Henry,  106. 
Stiles  Henry  R.,  M.D .,  147. 
Stiles  John,  106,  14.6. 
Stokes  James,  14' . 
Stone,  104. 
Stoughton,  Mr.,  99. 
Stoughton    Thomas,    16,  27, 

1 06. 
Strathspey,  86. 


Strong  John,  20,  106. 
Strong  Ozias,  161. 
Strong  Phincas,  161. 
Strong  Return,  106. 
Stuyvesant,  Sir    Peter,    98, 

132. 

Sugar  House,  48. 
Swan,  Lieut.,   23. 
Talcott  Caleb,   156. 
Talcott  Samuel,  156. 
Tappan,  Hon.  Benj.,  58. 
Tattington  James,  156. 
Taylor  Stephen,  19,  106. 
Telemachus,  75. 
Terry  Mr.,  98. 
Terry  John,  106. 
Thaycr  Zephaniah,  156. 
Thomas,  General,  8 1. 
Thrall  William,  106. 
Tibbals  Moses,  58. 
Tolland,  30,  45. 
Tod  Judge,  64. 
Tubbs  Benjamin,  155. 
Tucker  Isaac,  156. 
Tudor  Owen,  106. 
TunxisThe,  133. 
Treat,  Major,  23. 
Trough,  Race  of  the,  87. 
Tryon  George,  156. 
Tyng,  Lieut.,  23. 
Upham,  Lieut.,  23. 
Urquahart,  87. 
Vore  Richard,  106. 
Wallabout,  48. 
Ward,  Gen.  Artemas,  47. 


1  86 


Index. 


Warham,  Rev.    Mr.,  8,    14, 

99,  106,  126. 
Warner  Israel,   156. 
Washington,  General,  47,  174. 
Waterman  Zebulon,  156. 
Watson  Robert,  106. 
Watts,  Captain,  23. 
Webb,  Colonel,  49. 
Webb  Nathan,  155. 
Wells  Ephraim,  156. 
Wells  Ichabod,  156. 
Wells  Samuel,  156. 
Wept  of  Wish-ton-  Wish,   24. 
Westover  James,  in. 
West  Point,  68. 
Wheeler  Timothy,  156. 
White,  Captain,  23. 
White  Eyes,  56. 
White  Jacob,  156. 
White,  Rev.  John,  6. 
Whiting,  Colonel,   38,  157. 
Wilcox  Eben  N.,  114. 
Wilcox,  Gen.  O.  B.,  114. 
William    Henry      Fort,  38, 
41,42. 


Williams  John,  106. 
Wills  Azariah,   158. 
Wills  Solomon,  155. 
Willoughby  Sylvanus,    156. 
Wilson  Thomas,  157. 
Winchell  Nathan,  106. 
Windsor,  10,   13. 
Winslow,  Maj.-Gen.,  4.1. 
Winslow,    Maj.-Gen.  Josiah, 

23. 

Witchfield  John,  106. 
Wolcott   Frederick  H.,  149. 
Wolcott    Henry,    98,     104, 

106,  147. 

Wolcott  Joshua  H.,  149. 
Wolcott,  Gov.  Oliver,  149. 
Wolcott,  Gov.    Roger,  in, 

128,  148. 

Wolcott  Ursula,  149. 
Wood  Oliver  E.,  109. 
Woodbridge,    Rev.  Mr.,  14, 

126. 

Wooster,  Colonel,   39,  157. 
Yale  College,  127. 
Young  William,  156. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


GOT  16 

RLC-D 
OCT  1 6  1991 

NON-RE?'!' 

JAN  2 


DUE  2  WKS  FROM  DA 


E  RtCEIVtD 


315 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


NON-RENEWABLE 

SEP  1 9 

1  Ll/  fO 

DUt  2  WKS  FROM  DftTB  RECEIVED 


MAR  a  0  2002 

DUE  2  WKS  FROM  DATE  RECEIVED 
JCLA  ACCESS  fcEHVICfcS 

Interttbmry 


11630  Unlverrty  RM  e«rotj  Lit 
80x951576 


3      1 58   00707   567 


